| Psychogeography |  |
Psychogeography is defined in the first volume of Situationist International as "the study of specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." Situationists in Paris in the 1960s would venture into the city streets with the intention of being moved by them - being inspired in some extraordinary way by walking the ordinary streets of the city - and while this sometimes involved help from outside sources (alcohol or drugs), it could just as easily by derived from the city itself. The frisson that overcomes you when you catch a glimpse of your skyline from an unexpected angle, the sense of sudden intimacy you feel when you climb into one of your city's hidden tunnels, the jolt of excitement and anxiety that comes when you stumble into an unfamiliar neighbourhood in a city you thought you knew - all of these are moments beloved of psychogeographers and germane to the theory. Psychogeography and the Situationist principles behind it have been picked up and elaborated on by several groups of current activists and artists. Wilfred Hou Je Bek and his group Social Fiction organize "algorithmic walks," which employ the use of geographic algorithms (turn left at first corner, walk three blocks and turn right, etc.) to randomize the trajectory of walks and force the walkers into unfamiliar routes. Glowlab in New York organizes conferences and formalizes the theory and study of psychogeography, while several groups, variously formal and informal, organize psychogeographic walks in their own cities to celebrate and investigate the excitement inherent in the everday life of their streets. Some of these include the London Psychogeographical Association (a founding influence on the early SI), the Brooklyn Psychogeography Society, and the Toronto Psychogeography Society.
