Psychogeography as Embodied Connection to Place

This article introduces psychogeography as a research method that relies on embodied practices of drifting (dérive) through a city, which are followed by subsequent creative cartography. Mapping and documentation that follow dérive promote fuller understanding of persons' patterns of embodying sensory data from urban environments. This article then applies key ideas from psychogeography to urban planning and public health.As soon as I step outside, I am met with an onslaught of sensory data. The sunlight through the leaves, the smell of recently bloomed roses, the constant buzz and chirp-chirp-chirp of springtime creatures, a child's garden strategically set to appeal to the fairies. A neighborhood cat follows me a few paces down the sidewalk hoping for a scritch behind the ears-I happily oblige. Litter and sound increase as I near a busier road. Blue Moon bottles and Big Gulp cups; a billboard of Jennifer Anniston overlooks the intersection like a commercial Goddess of late 90s nostalgia. I scribble notes as I walk, sweat dripping from the backs of my knees, chest still tight with the memory of winter.Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk, 2024.