A Study of Digitally Enhanced People–Space Interaction: A Place-Centric Perspective

With the rapid development of information and communication technology, physical space has been increasingly enhanced by digital technology. The way people and space interact is significantly changed. In particular, an increased interest in the notion of place has emerged in examining smart city development, digital engagement, and people–technology relationships in hybrid physical–digital space. In this article, a place-centric perspective is employed to investigate digitally enhanced people–space interactions. Based on a multimethod research design that combines physical survey, field observation, and interview, this research employs a case study of a shopping mall to examine people’s everyday practices of digitally enabled placemaking. It is found that a range of digital interfaces functions as a system at various proxemic scales in hybrid space, which open up new spatialities by mediating trans-scale placemaking practices. Type-forms of digitally enabled people–space interactions are also summarized. The paper concludes that digitally enabled placemaking in this particular case is constituted within a closed mechanism. Future research directions are also raised at the end.