ABSTRACT
Arguing that encounters among strangers are one source of publics in urban spaces, this chapter explores how publics change when encounters involve not merely humans but also what Kevin Robins terms “electronic presence”. The chapter surveys debates about the public sphere in the urban context and more recent posthumanist interventions in understanding public cultures in mediated cities. The chapter discusses three case studies: people’s daily encounters with outdoor advertising, highlighting the continuing relevance of power relations; social media posts about street encounters with xenophobic assaults, reminding us that visualizing can also mean distancing; and urban catastrophe relief campaigns in the absence of physical encounters, demonstrating that data about publics assumes a performative, rather than merely problem-solving role in urban living.
