Psychogeography  UP240

Psychogeography is an exploration of urban environments that emphasizes playfulness and "drifting". It has links to the Lettrist and Situationist Internationals, revolutionary groups influenced by Marxist and anarchist theory, and the attitudes and methods of Dadaists and Surrealists. In 1955, Guy Debord defined psychogeography as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." As a practice and theory, psychogeography has influenced a broad set of cultural actors, including artists, activists, and academics.

Psychogeography leads to a critical view of the use and development of urban environments, which are considered a form of coercion by the ruling class against citizens. The idea promoted by this theory is therefore the deconstruction of urban spaces and the construction of new ones, whose main characteristics are short duration, permanent mutation and mobility. Psychogeography studies the correlations between psyche and environment, taking on subversive characteristics with respect to classical geography and placing at the center of its purposes the creative redefinition of urban spaces.