Psychogeography: discovering the mental terrain of the cityPsychogeography: discovering the mental terrain of the city
All In The Mind
All in the Mind takes you on an extraordinarily ordinary journey across the mental and physical terrain of a big city. For many the ideal method of urban travel is straight out of Star Trek—teleporting. But in the 21st century city there are flaneurs and commuters savouring their journeys, on foot and by bike. They're taking in the smells and sounds of back alleys, recalling emotional memories at intersections and celebrating stacks of shipping containers. Join us on a 'psychogeographical' adventure, and discover the impact of the city on your psyche.
29:27•5 Sept 2009
Mental Maps, City Streets and the Secret Life of Your Commute
Episode Overview
- Psychogeography focuses on personal, subjective responses to the city rather than objective maps or planning rules.
- Walking without a strict plan can trigger a kind of alert daydreaming that sparks ideas and fresh perspectives.
- Regular routes by bike or on foot accumulate emotional meanings, with certain spots linked to joy, fear or comfort.
- Paying attention to smells, sounds and small details can make city life feel richer and more bearable.
- Cars and virtual life can dull awareness of place, while slow travel on foot or bike reconnects people with their surroundings.
“To lose oneself in a city, as one loses oneself in a forest, that calls for quite a different schooling.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Here, the focus shifts from substances to streets, showing how city spaces shape what goes on in your head. All in the Mind takes a walk (and a ride) through Sydney to show how pavements, bike lanes and back alleys become part of your inner life. Producer-presenter Stephen Burstow heads out on foot with architect-turned-writer Elizabeth Farrelly, starting at Sydney Airport and wandering towards the city with almost no plan.
Their aim is simple: let the streets lead, and see what that does to their thoughts and feelings. As Elizabeth jokes, “I think that’s what happens to me. So your mind just goes, and produces this ferment of stuff, which I think is why writers always walk.” Alongside the urban ramble, commuter cyclist Elena Gardner shares how her regular ride has become a rich "mental map" of memories, emotions and sensory cues.
A sharp dip in the road suddenly fills with the smell of hot cross buns; a grim traffic section carries anxiety from past close calls; a stretch of tarmac feels joyful because once a stranger sang to her all the way along it. For anyone who’s ever walked off a tough craving or used a bike ride to clear their head, her reflections will ring a bell.
Writer Merlin Coverley adds context, explaining that psychogeography is about how subjective experience and the city meet, rather than some perfect, objective map. Quotes from Walter Benjamin, Rebecca Solnit and Charles Baudelaire show this isn’t a new idea, just one we’ve maybe forgotten in the age of cars and screens. If you’re rethinking habits, routines or your relationship with your environment, this wander through Sydney might nudge you to ask: what is your daily route really doing to your mind?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.