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Communica ing he U ban Expe ience h ough
Biosensing: A Pa icipa o y App oach
Daniel Pai a, Ana Gonçal es, Daniela Fe ei a, Tomás Ped o & Inês Boa ida
Po ugal
To ci e his a icle: Daniel Pai a, Ana Gonçal es, Daniela Fe ei a, Tomás Ped o & Inês Boa ida
Po ugal (2023): Communica ing he U ban Expe ience h ough Biosensing: A Pa icipa o y
App oach, The P o essional Geog aphe , DOI: 10.1080/00330124.2023.2194365
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/00330124.2023.2194365
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published wi h
license by Taylo & F ancis G oup, LLC
Published online: 27 Ap 2023.
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Communica ing he U ban Expe ience h ough Biosensing: A
Pa icipa o y App oach
Daniel Pai a , Ana Gonc¸al es, Daniela Fe ei a, Tom
as Ped o, and
In^
es Boa ida Po ugal
Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Po ugal
Ad ances in biosensing echnologies ha e led o he comme cializa ion o no el ligh weigh wea able de ices, which ha e
been p aised by u ban schola s o o e ing he possibili y o quan i y emo ions in eal-wo ld se ings, some hing ha had
p o en o be e y challenging un il now. Al hough many s udies mix biosensing wi h quali a i e me hods o p o ide a
clea e pic u e o wha physiological da a migh mean in e ms o emo ions, he e has been li le explo a ion o how people
in e p e hei own bioda a. Following calls o g ea e a en ion o pa icipa ion in biosensing s udies, his a icle explo es
he nuances o he in e p e a ion o bioda a by esea ch pa icipan s. D awing on he indings o a s udy in which pa ici-
pan s we e in i ed o e lec on and discuss hei own bioda a du ing and a e a walk in a high s ee in Lisbon, we show
how exposing pa icipan s o bioda a c ea es momen s o bounded in e e ence ha os e in-dep h e lec ion abou he
u ban expe ience. Wi h his in mind, we discuss how bounded in e e ence can be a gene a i e d i e o mo e de ailed
discussions abou spa ial expe iences. Key Wo ds: biosensing, elec ode mal ac i i y, pa icipa o y me hods, spa ial
expe ience, u ban geog aphy.
The e is inc easing in e es in he po en ial o
biosenso s o he s udy o he u ban expe i-
ence, namely i s emo ional con ou s. De ices such
as elec ode mal ac i i y senso s, elec oencephalo-
g ams, o eye- acking glasses ha e become popula
ools o s udy emo ional and cogni i e eac ions o
u ban en i onmen s (Aspinall e al. 2015; Beljaa s
2020; Pyke e al. 2020b). I has been a gued ha
he ad an age o using hese ools lies in he ac
ha hei measu emen s a e mo e objec i e and p e-
cise han he sel - epo ed da a ha s em om in e -
iews and su eys by ques ionnai e (Bi enboim e al.
2019). I has also been no ed, hough, ha i is o en
di icul o es ablish a di ec ela ion be ween en i-
onmen al s imuli and bioda a measu emen s
(Osbo ne and Jones 2017; Sho al, Sch ime , and
Tami 2018a,2018b; Rei and Schm€ucke 2021).
Taking his in o accoun , a signi ican pa o bio-
sensing s udies ha e mixed bio acking wi h quali a-
i e me hods, wi h he pu pose o con ex ualizing
physiological eac ions in geog aphical e ms (e.g.,
Kim and Fesenmaie 2015; Reiche e al. 2018;
S adle , Jepson, and Wood 2018).
Despi e hese ad ances, hese s udies ha e used
quali a i e me hods mos ly o p o ide a clea e
unde s anding o wha bioda a means, bu he ques-
ion o how people in e p e bioda a and how such
da a migh p o oke mo e p o ound e lec ions and
dialogues on he u ban expe ience has no been su -
icien ly app oached. This ques ion is, howe e , c u-
cial in he con ex o he in oduc ion o biosensing
in u ban design and planning (Hollande and
Sussman 2021; Sussman and Hollande 2021; Willis
and C oss 2022; Willis and Nold 2022). Biosensing
app oaches migh h ea en pa icipa ion in u ban
policies i hey a e no designed o include ci izens
in he p ocess o making sense o bo h bioda a and
he ci y.
This a icle add esses hese issues by explo ing
how esea ch pa icipan s in e p e he bioda a o
hei own walks in u ban space. We d aw on a s udy
in which pa icipan s wea ing elec ode mal ac i i y
senso s du ing a walk in a high s ee in Lisbon
we e in i ed o in e p e and discuss hei own bio-
da a du ing and a e ha walk. In his s udy, we
d aw on he concep o bounded in e e ence, which
e e s o he phenomenological ela ionship be ween
humans and machine in e aces in which in e aces
can pe suade humans o e hink hei own expe ien-
ces, bu humans e ain an agen ial supe posi ion
o e he meanings o such in e aces (Fazio 2022).
We show how allowing subjec s o in e p e bioda a
c ea es momen s o bounded in e e ence and we
discuss he po en ial o explo ing hese momen s in
u ban esea ch.
This a icle is di ided in o ou sec ions. Fi s ,
we e iew ecen discussions on he ad an ages and
limi a ions o biosensing me hods and sugges new
possibili ies o explo e bioda a as a igge o mo e
in-dep h discussions abou he u ban expe ience by
a uning o momen s o bounded in e e ence.
Second, we desc ibe he me hodology o ou case
s udy in g ea e de ail. We hen u n o he p esen
and discuss h ee e hnog aphic igne es o di e en
o ms o bounded in e e ence ha eme ged in ou
s udy. We conclude he a icle by e lec ing on how
bounded in e e ence can be a gene a i e d i e o
mo e de ailed discussions abou spa ial expe iences.
#2023 The Au ho (s). Published wi h license by Taylo and F ancis G oup, LLC.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licen-
ses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on
which his a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
The P o essional Geog aphe , 0(0) 2023, pages 1–10 #2023 The Au ho (s). Published wi h license by Taylo F ancis G oup, LLC.
Ini ial submission, No embe 2022; e ised submission, Feb ua y 2023; inal accep ance, Feb ua y 2023.
The Ad an ages and Limi a ions o
Biosensing
In he las decade, ollowing a se ies o ad ances in
biosensing echnologies ha ha e led o he com-
me cializa ion o no el ligh weigh wea able de ices,
social scien is s ha e p oduced a signi ican numbe
o s udies on u ban emo ions using physiological
da a. These s udies ha e been a ied. Tou ism
schola s ha e engaged wi h biosensing mainly o
s udy emplaced o i ual ou ism expe iences (Li,
Sco , and Wal e s 2015; Ma suda e al. 2018;
Moyle e al. 2019; Osbo ne 2019; Sho al and
Bi enboim 2019; Bas iaansen, Oos e hol , e al.
2020; Rei and Schm€
ucke 2021), bu also e i o ial
ma ke ing campaigns (Li e al. 2018; Bas iaansen,
S aa man, e al. 2020). Schola s wo king a he
in e sec ion o heal h and geog aphy ha e been
applying biosensing echniques o s udy he impac
o u ban en i onmen s in he human body (Aspinall
e al. 2015; Spinney 2015; Engelniede hamme ,
Papas e anou, and Xiang 2019; Foley e al. 2020;
Pyke e al. 2020b). Thus a , he ela ion be ween
men al heal h and he u ban en i onmen
(Bi enboim e al. 2019; Beljaa s 2020; Winz and
S€
ode s €
om 2020; Winz e al. 2022) and he de ec-
ion o momen s o s ess (Thompson e al. 2012;
Ola sdo i , Cloke, and V€
ogele 2017; Ky iakou e al.
2019; Lee e al. 2020; Pyke e al. 2020a) ha e been
he mos p ominen opics o esea ch. In addi ion,
u ban schola s ha e also engaged wi h biosenso s as
a me hod o unde s and cogni i e and emo ional
esponses o speci ic ea u es o he u ban en i on-
men (Resch, Sudmanns, e al. 2015; Resch, Summa,
e al. 2015; Hijazi e al. 2016; Zeile e al. 2016;
Kie e e al. 2017; Nold 2018; Sho al, Sch ime ,
and Tami 2018a; Hollande e al. 2019; Pyke ,
Osbo ne, and Resch 2020).
The emphasis in hese s udies has been mos ly
on he possibili ies o measu ing emo ions (Kim and
Fesenmaie 2015; Sho al, Sch ime , and Tami
2018a; S adle , Jepson, and Wood 2018; Ca uelle
e al. 2019). Indeed, biosenso s ha e been mos ly
p aised o he possibili y o quan i y emo ions in
eal-wo ld se ings, some hing ha had p o en o be
e y challenging un il now. Fo ins ance, Bi enboim
e al. (2019) claimed ha ambula o y biosensing
measu emen s acili a e he s udy o people’s physio-
logical signals du ing hei daily ou ines in eal-li e
si ua ions and a e mo e objec i e han sel - epo ed
assessmen s. The au ho s a gued ha wea able bio-
senso s signi ican ly educe he bu den on esea ch
pa icipan s, as hey a e no longe equi ed o
epea edly comple e su eys o unde ake long in e -
iews. In his sense, he e is a dange ous e asu e o
he subjec ac oss se e al biosensing s udies, as peo-
ple’s subjec i e expe iences a e educed o he de i-
ce’s bioda a.
In addi ion o his, despi e he posi i e iews on
he po en ial o biosensing me hods, o he s udies
ha e un eiled signi ican limi a ions o he exac ness
o biosenso s. On he one hand, di icul ies in s an-
da dizing da a ha e been epo ed, due o he signi -
ican di e ences in da a ac oss age, gende , and
o he social and pe sonal cha ac e is ics (Sho al,
Sch ime , and Tami 2018b). On he o he hand, i
has been no ed ha biosensing “can cap u e he
‘wha ’bu no he ‘why,’” because i is di icul o
es ablish a di ec ela ion be ween an en i onmen al
s imulus and a bodily esponse (Osbo ne and Jones
2017, 162). Thus, se e al s udies a e now mixing
biosensing echniques wi h adi ional quali a i e
echniques, including men al maps (Pa€
ul I Agus 
ı,
Ru llan , and Lasala Fo ea 2019), beha io al expe i-
men s (Bas iaansen, S aa man, e al. 2020), in e -
iews (Kim and Fesenmaie 2015), pho o elici a ion
(S adle , Jepson, and Wood 2018), ideo (Rei and
Schm€
ucke 2021), and dia ies (Reiche e al. 2018).
The e a e signi ican challenges o hese app oaches,
as asking pa icipan s o explain hei own bioda a
can pose he “ isk ha hey migh asc ibe alse
meaning o he da a in o de o make sense o i
hemsel es”(Osbo ne and Jones 2017, 161).
Indeed, al hough hese mixed-me hod s udies
ha e p o ided a be e con ex o he bioda a, allow-
ing g ea e unde s anding o he body–en i onmen
ela ion, hey ha e also u he unde lined he limi-
a ions o biosensing echniques. I has been no ed
ha i is di icul o assign a ce ain e en o bioda a
unambiguously (Sho al, Sch ime , and Tami
2018a; Rei and Schm€ucke 2021), as physical ac i -
i y in luences bioda a, making i di icul o dis in-
guish emo ionally d i en om ac i i y-d i en da a
a ia ions (Pyke e al. 2020b; Rei and Schm€
ucke
2021). Some esea che s ha e ied o de elop me h-
odologies o minimize he p esence o mo ion and
elec onic a i ac s in he da a ha migh sugges
e oneous in e p e a ions o human–en i onmen
in e ac ions, bu i has p o en di icul o comple ely
elimina e hem in ambula o y se ings (Taylo e al.
2015; Ky iakou e al. 2019). Fu he mo e, biosen-
so s migh no de ec low-in ensi y changes o be
sensi i e o di e ing cul u al unde s andings o
emo ions (Pyke e al. 2020b). Fo his eason, Rei
and Schm€ucke (2021, 290) concluded ha i is
o en challenging o e en assess he “wha ”o bio-
sensing, le alone he “why.”
Ra he han leading us o belie e ha biosenso s
a e oo lawed o u ban esea ch, we sugges ha
hese sho comings should ins ead mo i a e
esea che s o u he explo e he po en ial o bio-
da a o quali a i e me hods, ollowing ecen calls
o making biosensing s udies mo e pa icipa o y
(Willis and C oss 2022; Willis and Nold 2022).
Mo e p ecisely, we a e in e es ed in explo ing how
he epo ed ambigui y o bioda a can be gene a i e
in he sense ha he con o e sies ha i causes
2Volume 0, Numbe 0, 2023
migh lead o mo e p o ound discussions abou
wo ldly expe iences. Tha is, we con end ha i is
wo hy o ake he discussions ega ding bioda a as
se iously as he bioda a i sel . Osbo ne (2022)
al eady showed he alue o ocusing on pa icipan
na a i es abou hei own bioda a, by using ideo
and bioda a elici a ion in pos walk in e iews o
unde s and how mic ospa ial encoun e s in oke spe-
ci ic psychophysiological eac ions. Ra he han
ocusing on he bioda a i sel , Osbo ne (2022)
un eiled he a ec i e ela ions ha people es ablish
wi h mic ospaces by explo ing he pa icipan s’indi-
idual na a i es ha s em om he elici a ion o
bioda a. The e is mo e o explo e, howe e , ega d-
ing how looking a bioda a migh change o deepen
he way people emembe , e lec abou , and exp ess
hei own spa ial expe iences.
He e, we d aw on he concep o bounded in e -
e ence o desc ibe he possibili ies o e lec ing on
and ein e p e ing spa ial expe iences by ques ioning
biosensing. Fazio (2022) desc ibed he ela ionship
be ween humans and mobile echnologies as one o
bounded in e e ence. Fo Fazio, human–sma -
phone in e ac ions ake place wi hin hough ields
in which he ela ionship be ween humans and
machines is composed by wo asymme ies. On he
one hand, Fazio d ew on S iegle ’s(2009) unde -
s anding o hypomnesis, which e e s o he ex e -
naliza ion o memo ies and subjec i i ies in o
echnology, o a gue ha sma de ices unc ion as
hypomnesic de ices. Tha is, sma echnologies
such as he sma phone o biosenso s a e used o
ex e nalize ou memo ies and subjec i i ies. By
doing so, a sense o in imacy be ween humans and
machines a ises, which ul ima ely o e s mobile
echnologies he capaci y o pe suade humans. On
he o he hand, Fazio belie ed ha humans main ain
an agen ial supe posi ion o e he machine.
Al hough Fazio con ended ha bo h asymme ies
coexis , he desc ibed hei ela ion as one ull o
in e e ences (in a Deleuzian–Gua a ian sense). Fo
Plo ni sky (2012), Deleuzian–Gua a ian in e e -
ence can be unde s ood as “ he addi ion o supe po-
si ion o wo o mo e wa es ha esul s in new wa e
pa e ns”(22). In his sense, in e e ence in ol es
he esonan encoun e be ween di e en a ec i e
ones, which leads o a ich play o ampli ica ion
ha esul s in o en unp edic able new a ec i e
ones (Plo ni sky 2012; see also Ash e al. 2018; Ash
and Simpson 2019; Pai a 2020).
He e, we a gue ha he bioda a s emming om
biosensing me hods can be unde s ood as a hypo-
mnesic de ice, as i cap u es a ec i e phenomena
e en beyond conscious expe ience, which can pa ic-
ipa e in p oducing momen s o bounded in e e -
ence. In such momen s, bioda a can pe suade
pa icipan s o e hink hei own spa ial expe iences,
bu pa icipan s e ain an agen ial supe posi ion o e
he bioda a ha has been p oduced. Such bounded
in e e ence means ha he encoun e be ween
hypomnesic bioda a and agen ial subjec s esul s in
new in e p e a ions o pas spa ial expe iences.
The e o e, h ough bounded in e e ence, biosens-
ing becomes a gene a i e me hod. In he nex sec-
ions, we p esen how bounded in e e ence du ing
a biosensing s udy has led o no el, in-dep h discus-
sions abou he spa ial expe iences o pa icipan s.
Me hod
The pu pose o ou s udy was o unde s and how
people in e p e he bioda a o hei own walks.
Whe eas o he s udies ha e d awn on quali a i e
me hods o con ex ualize bioda a (S adle , Jepson,
and Wood 2018; Rei and Schm€ucke 2021;
Osbo ne 2022), ou pu pose is o ocus on he way
ha bioda a sugges ce ain in e p e a ions o hose
da a o how pe sonal in e p e a ions migh con a-
dic o deepen he da a.
The s udy was composed by wo s eps. In he
i s s ep, pa icipan s we e in i ed o unde ake a
walk h ough a main s ee in Lisbon wea ing an
Empa ica E4 w is band. This de ice eco ds elec o-
de mal ac i i y (EDA), which can be desc ibed as
he elec ical phenomena in skin, including “all
ac i e and passi e elec ical p ope ies which can be
aced back o he skin and i s appendages”
(Boucsein 2012, 2). The e a e se e al ac o s ha
in luence EDA, including indi idual ac o s such as
age, gende , e hnici y, anxie y le els, o medica ion,
and en i onmen al ac o s such as empe a u e o
humidi y, bu EDA can also be used as an indica o
o emo ional a ousal (Osbo ne and Jones 2017;
Sho al, Sch ime , and Tami 2018a,2018b; Rei
and Schm€ucke 2021; Osbo ne 2022). Al hough
EDA has been used o iden i y spa ial poin s o
emo ion (Osbo ne 2019; Rei and Schm€
ucke 2021),
i mus no be con used wi h mood, a ec , o emo-
ion i sel . I mus be unde lined ha EDA da a, as a
hypomnesic de ice, eco d a physiological signal
ha a ies acco ding o he lows o mood, a ec s,
and emo ions in he body (and o he a iables). Fo
his eason, i is an in e es ing igge o spa k con-
e sa ions abou hese opics, bu hese a e complex
cons uc s ha equi e quali a i e inqui y o be
add essed. In ou s udy, pa icipan s unde s ood
EDA as a egis e o di e en humo al, a ec i e,
and emo ional phenomena, and, gi en ou ocus on
he pa icipan ’s bioda a in e p e a ion, we p esen
hei cons uc s.
Be o e he walk, pa icipan s had a i e-minu e
es pe iod wea ing he w is band o allow p ope
calib a ion o da a. Pa icipan s we e also gi en a
b ie explana ion abou he pu pose o ou esea ch,
he me hodology o his expe imen , and wha EDA
is, and hen signed an in o med consen o m. In
addi ion o he w is band, pa icipan s we e gi en a
The U ban Expe ience h ough Biosensing 3
Huawei MediaPad T5 able ha displayed he
Empa ica w is band’s eal- ime EDA aw da a
h ough he E4 eal ime app. They we e encou aged
o look a he aw da a display du ing he walk o
become acquain ed wi h how EDA luc ua es du ing
hei walk. Mos pa icipan s men ioned ha hey
looked a his in e ace o b ie pe iods o up o one
minu e and hen placed he able on hei handbag,
a e ealizing how esponsi e i is.
The walk was conduc ed in A enida da Ig eja, a
consump ion-o ien ed main s ee in Lisbon. The
e ail mix is domina ed by clo hing s o es, es au-
an s, pas y shops, and banking and eal es a e
agencies. Al hough A enida da Ig eja is a main oad
in he neighbo hood, he public space is pedes ian-
iendly, wi h la ge sidewalks and wen y- i e public
benches dis ibu ed ac oss he 525-m-long a enue.
The u ban landscape is, howe e , qui e consump-
ion-o ien ed, as he s ee con ains billboa ds, bus
s ops, and s ee kiosks wi h la ge ad e isemen s.
Nine een pa icipan s we e in i ed o walk up and
down he a enue, leading o a 1,050-m walk, which
hey comple ed in be ween i een o hi y minu es.
In he second s ep, an in e iew was conduc ed
immedia ely a e he walk. The in e iew com-
p ised wo pa s. In he i s pa , pa icipan s we e
in i ed o desc ibe hei walk, and o iden i y signi i-
can momen s, namely (1) elemen s o he u ban
landscape ha caugh hei a en ion; (2) posi i e
expe iences and eelings du ing he walk; (3) nega-
i e expe iences and eelings du ing he walk; and
(4) momen s o pe sonal memo y. In he second
pa , he pa icipan s we e shown a g aphic wi h he
aw EDA da a o hei walk con aining imes amps
on a able . Pa icipan s we e hen asked o iden i y
he momen s o a en ion, posi i e eelings, nega i e
eelings, and pe sonal memo y in he g aphic. No
ideo o Global Posi ioning Sys em (GPS) da a we e
eco ded du ing he in e iew, so ha pa icipan s
could ocus on hei in e p e a ion o he aw EDA
da a. Ne e heless, mos pa icipan s we e able o
pinpoin hei signi ican momen s in he g aphic,
al hough h ee pa icipan s exp essed ha he ask
would be easie wi h he aid o ideo. Gi en he use
o aw da a in his expe imen , he da a con ained
mo ion and o he a e ac s ha made i impossible
o ela e da a a ia ions uniquely o a ec i e o
emo ional esponses. Ra he han so ing ou hese
a e ac s, we we e also in e es ed in unde s anding
o wha ex en pa icipan s would be able o p esen
and discuss di e en causes ha migh explain da a
a ia ions. In line wi h Osbo ne (2022), we in ended
o “mo e beyond co ela ion o explana ion”(1465).
Wi h he in o ma ion ha s emmed om hese
in e iews, we c ea ed g aphics o he EDA da a o
each pa icipan and ansc ibed he in e iew da a
o ela e hem o he signi ican momen s on his
g aphic using ex boxes.
The nine een pa icipan s in ol ed in hese walks
esided in he Lisbon Me opoli an A ea and hei
age anged om eigh een o six y-six yea s old.
Educa ion le els we e gene ally high, anging om
seconda y educa ion o a mas e ’s deg ee. The sam-
ple was balanced in e ms o gende (53 pe cen
emale, 47 pe cen male). Se en een pa icipan s
we e Po uguese and wo we e B azilian. In he nex
sec ion, we app oach he p ocesses o in e p e a ion
o bioda a ha ha e eme ged in ou s udy by p e-
sen ing h ee igne es o bounded in e e ence.
Bounded In e e ence in U ban
Biosensing
As hypomnesic de ices, biosenso s egis e he em-
nan s o a ec i e and physiological phenomena.
Al hough such emnan s a e no he human expe i-
ence i sel , hey can help c ea e o e-c ea e na a-
i es o pas expe iences. When he aw da a o he
biosenso a e g aphically ep esen ed in empo al o
spa ial e ms, hey ell a s o y. The na a i es ha
biosenso s c ea e, howe e , migh di e om he
na a i es o he subjec s in ol ed in he expe ience,
no only because bioda a migh egis e non ep e-
sen a ional a ec s ha go unno iced in u ban walk-
ing (Buse 2014; Simpson 2020), bu also because
bioda a con ain a e ac s (Taylo e al. 2015;
Ky iakou e al. 2019). Allowing subjec s o in e p e
such da a c ea es momen s o bounded in e e ence
in which bioda a can pe suade humans o e hink
hei own expe iences, bu humans e ain an agen ial
supe posi ion o e he meanings o he da a (Fazio
2022). In his sec ion, we desc ibe and discuss h ee
o ms o bounded in e e ence ha ha e eme ged in
ou s udy, p o iding a p ac ical example o each
o m. Fi s , we show how da a anomalies can lead o
“gli chy”con es a ions ha e eal he pe sonal sig-
ni icance o speci ic expe iences. Second, we
desc ibe how emo ional s a es a e laye ed in o a ia-
ions in and in e p e a ions o bioda a. Thi d, we
explo e how da a ambigui y can also e eal emo-
ional ambigui y.
Da a Anomalies
Ma ia
1
is walking h ough A enida da Ig eja du ing
a sligh ly ainy and windy day in June. The empe a-
u e ou side is abou 22 C. She is wea ing an
Empa ica E4 w is band and looking a he eal- ime
EDA da a h ough he Empa ica eal ime app.
Ma ia inds i s ange ha EDA da a emain pe -
ec ly s able, as she was expec ing EDA o peak du -
ing momen s o ac i e a en ion. She s a s es ing
he own eac ions by going inside s o es, whe e she
expec s o ha e mo e imme si e expe iences. She
goes inside wo s o es, bu he da a line does no
4Volume 0, Numbe 0, 2023

budge. Then, she makes one las a emp . In he
wo ds:
So, a his poin I go in o ano he s o e, and I see
he alues doubling up! I was like a s o e o
household i ems. And i smelled like s awbe ies.
When Ma ia looks a he EDA da a g aphic a he
end o he walk (Figu e 1), she is puzzled:
I don’ know wha his means, bu his is my whole
pa h un il I ge o he s o e. Bu hen I go inside
he s o e, and i is no like he e is any hing he e
ha is pa icula ly in e es ing o me. Bu hen he
alues eally wen up. The s o e was e y colo ul,
and he scen was much mo e pleasan han he
s ee . I migh be because o ha ha he alues
wen up so much, bu I am no su e.
We ask Ma ia how long she was a he s o e, gi en
ha he alues emain high un il he end o he
walk. She s a es ha she was he e only o one
minu e, and ha he alues emained high e en a e
lea ing he s o e. We alk abou he possible e ec
o he empe a u e on he EDA alues, gi en ha i
was somewha cold ou side and wa me in he s o e,
and his migh ha e in luenced he alues. Indeed,
Ma ia desc ibes o he signi ican senso y s imuli
du ing he walk ou side ha did no co espond o
any peak in he da a. She men ions he scen o he
g illed chicken akeaway es au an as a posi i e
s imulus and he noxious smell o ca exhaus as a
wo isome sign o u ban pollu ion. Ma ia’s encoun-
e wi h he EDA da a shows ha he ac ha bio-
da a migh come ac oss as anomalous as hey a y
acco ding o mul iple ac o s can be gene a i e in
e ms o how people e hink and communica e hei
own expe iences in ace o alues ha seem gli chy.
Following Leszczynski and Elwood (2022a,2022b),
we can conside hese gli ches as gene a i e issu es
ha open up spaces o dialogues be ween subjec i -
i ies a he han disca d hem as abno mal ma e s
ha should no coun in objec i e u banism (see also
Palle 2022). In his sense, he e is a limi o he
na a i es ha bioda a sugges , bu i is such a limi
ha ac i a es Ma ia’s agen ial supe posi ion. Ma ia
plays wi h da a du ing he walk o unde s and how
i wo ks, she con es s he “silences”in he da a, and
she e lec s on he mul iple meanings o da a peaks.
In his sense, da a become meaning ul h ough he
gli chy ela ion o in e e ence ha Ma ia es ablishes
wi h i .
Laye ed Da a
EDA bioda a p o ide a one-dimensional da a se
ha can be used o unde s and emo ional engage-
men , bu such da a a e no sensi i e o he com-
plexi y o emo ional s a es, which also con ain a
cul u al dimension (Pyke e al. 2020b; Rei and
Schm€
ucke 2021). This means ha EDA da a a ia-
ions migh no co espond o he e ec o a single
emo ion. Ins ead, hese a ia ions migh eme ge
om laye s o emo ions, eelings, and unde lying
moods. Magda’s walk is a signi ican example o his.
The EDA g aphic o Magda’s walk shows wo qui e
di e en momen s (Figu e 2). EDA da a a e g adu-
ally diminishing du ing he i s hal o he walk bu
inc ease and become spiky du ing he second hal o
he walk.
Magda s a s by ecognizing ha aking a walk
h ough ha s ee a ha ime was a elaxing ac i -
i y, as she had a busy mo ning ha day. Then, she
iden i ies h ee signi ican posi i e momen s du ing
he walk:
The shop windows. A pha macy window go my
a en ion, wi h a se ies o c eams and p oduc s.
The clo hing s o e windows as well. …A
es au an ha I had ne e seen also go my
Figu e 1 Elec ode mal ac i i y (EDA) o Ma ia’s walk in A enida da Ig eja (Lisbon), 2022. Da a collec ed wi h an
Empa ica E4 de ice.
The U ban Expe ience h ough Biosensing 5
a en ion. I know he a ea, bu I had no been he e,
a leas on oo , o a while. …Pe haps i ’sa
s e ch o say ha his is an a ec i e memo y, bu I
ac ually passed by a chu asquei a,
2
which I hink
has he bes chicken in Lisbon. And as I passed by,
i eminded me o my iends wi h whom I a e
chicken he e las ime.
Magda can associa e he emo ional e en a he chu -
asquei a o a da a spike, bu he i s wo ook place
du ing he i s hal in which he EDA was g adually
dec easing. When asked why she hinks he second
hal o he g aphic is much highe han he i s , she
e lec s and makes a pe sonal con ession:
I ’s no ela ed o he s ee . I am no su e i his
will make much sense o he s udy ha you a e
doing. Because I am ha ing some nega i e
hough s, no hing o do wi h he walk, i ’s my own
s u . And I el ha du ing he walk, because when
a pe son winds down, i is easie o s a hinking
abou s u . I el his in he second hal . Because in
he i s hal I was mo e dis ac ed, wi h he shop
windows and e e y hing. In he second hal , I was
umina ing. This makes sense because when I wen
he i s ime, I was supe dis ac ed wi h wha I
was seeing, and I was supe calm, and hen when I
go back, I was mo e in ol ed in my own hough s.
Magda’s e lec ion led he o unde s and and com-
munica e he in e ac ion be ween he mood and
emo ions, and how hey we e a ec ed by bo h he
ac o walking and he u ban ea u es ha she
encoun e ed. Ra he han simply communica ing a
one-way ela ion be ween a pe cei ing subjec and a
pe cei ed objec , which he in e iew sc ip also
implies, Magda came o ealize he complex in e ac-
ions be ween he mood, emo ions, and he u ban
expe ience. Magda’s ealiza ion also demons a es
how laye s o mood and emo ion a e in e wo en in
bioda a (Osbo ne 2019; Pyke e al. 2020b). Ra he
han highligh ing he ambigui y o such da a, how-
e e , Magda’s case shows how e lec ion abou lay-
e ed bioda a can help communica e complex
emo ional ela ions wi h he u ban space in g ea e
de ail, beyond he subjec –objec dicho omy. In his
case, bioda a sugges ed a na a i e qui e di e en
om Magda’s own na a i e, and pe suaded he o
e hink he own expe ience. E en so, Magda
e ained he agen ial capaci y o explain and asse
he meaning o he di e ging bioda a.
Emo ional Ambigui y
In addi ion o concealing laye s o moods and emo-
ions, bioda a migh also conceal ambiguous emo-
ions, as da a peaks (high and low) e e o
emo ional in ensi y, bu no o emo ions hemsel es.
This means ha ambiguous o con adic o y emo-
ions ega ding e en s emain hidden in such peaks.
Ne e heless, da a peaks o en sugges a mo e in-
dep h e lec ion ha leads pa icipan s o engage
wi h con adic o y emo ions ega ding u ban spaces,
and hese e lec ions also lead o new in e p e a ions
o da a peaks.
When Pablo looked a his da a a e his walk
h ough A enida da Ig eja, i was e y easy o him
o ela e he peaks in his da a o his own a mo-
sphe ic pe cep ion du ing he walk. His da a g aphic
(Figu e 3) shows a se ies o high peaks in a hy hmic
cadence, and Pablo explains why ha happened:
The s ee s ha in e sec wi h he a enue …each
ime I s opped o c oss he s ee I enjoyed aking a
momen o app ecia e hose o he s ee s and
buildings as hey a e, because I ound hem p e y
and o ganized. …When I walked by, I el good.
I hink he model o he houses eminded me a lo
o some houses in B azil. So, I could see mysel ,
my childhood somehow on hose s ee s. And while
Figu e 2 Elec ode mal ac i i y (EDA) o Magda’s walk in A enida da Ig eja (Lisbon), 2022. Da a collec ed wi h an
Empa ica E4 de ice.
6Volume 0, Numbe 0, 2023
he a enue is no oo packed, no oo con using,
hose s ee s we e like a calme unnel, wi h no
oo many ca s. I was like, “wow, how beau i ul.”
Pablo could no only ela e he high peaks in his
da a o signi ican momen s o awe, bu he also was
able o associa e low peaks wi h bo ing o unpleas-
an momen s. In pa icula , he men ions he lowes
poin in he middle o he g aphic as he momen
when he was c ossing a oundabou , which he ound
annoying “because he e was no shade and no ees.”
He con inues: “… so i was wo se. My eyes we e
hu ing. The oundabou was a nuisance. Due o he
sun, due o he ligh , i was oo open.”
A e looking a he da a, howe e , he wonde s
why ha seems o be he lowes poin o his da a.
He hen emembe s an encoun e he had du ing
ha momen . In his wo ds:
Bu i was e y unny because, e en he e when I
el uncom o able, I was c ossing he s ee and a
gen leman came o alk o me. No eally alking o
me, bu I was wai ing o he a ic ligh o change
and he made a ges u e like “Come quickly, you
ha e ime o c oss.”And I hough ha in e ac ion
was unny.
In his case, he p esence o a low poin in he bio-
da a sugges ed a mo e ca e ul examina ion o a spe-
ci ic momen o Pablo. This ca e ul examina ion
un eiled a momen o ambiguous emo ions in which
Pablo was bo h bo he ed by he u ban en i onmen
and en e ained by a social in e ac ion. In his sense,
he in e e ence o da a in Pablo’s accoun o his
expe ience, ins ead o me ely con i ming o e u ing
his accoun , led o a new in e p e a ion o such da a,
as Pablo e ained an agen ial supe posi ion o e he
da a (Fazio 2022). The e o e, he ad an age o bio-
sensing, in his case, is no ela ed o a highe p eci-
sion o objec i i y as claimed by au ho s such as
Bi enboim e al. (2019), Bas iaansen, Oos e hol ,
e al. (2020), o Sho al, Sch ime , and Tami
(2018b), bu o he gene a i i y o he subjec i e
p ocess o bounded in e e ence.
Conclusion
The h ee e en s o bounded in e e ence ha we
iden i ied in ou s udy show ha he gli chy anoma-
lies, laye s, and he ambigui ies o bioda a can be
gene a i e d i e s o deepe and mo e de ailed dis-
cussions abou spa ial expe iences, a he han lead-
ing us o dismiss such da a as biased o inaccu a e.
Al hough i has been demons a ed ha he elici a-
ion o bioda a in pos walk in e iews is undamen al
o he con ex ualiza ion and he analysis o such
da a (S adle , Jepson, and Wood 2018; Pyke e al.
2020b; Rei and Schm€ucke 2021; Osbo ne 2022),
we ha e also shown ha biosensing can be
e hough as an elici a ion echnique ha can be
in eg a ed in o es ablished quali a i e and pa icipa-
o y me hods in u ban s udies o gene a e mo e p o-
ound e lec ions and con e sa ions. In his ega d,
we highligh he no ion o he agen ial supe posi ion
ha esea ch pa icipan s e ain o e he da a (Fazio
2022). The da a sugges a ce ain in e p e a ion o
hei spa ial expe ience, bu pa icipan s ha e been
able o con es o expand he s o y ha da a ell.
They ques ion da a, e lec on hem, and explo e
and p o ide al e na i e explana ions. He e, i mus
be aken in o conside a ion ha he e is a delica e
balance be ween he ex en o which bioda a can
pe suade pa icipan s and hei own agen ial supe -
posi ion. In some cases i is he limi s o he bioda a
ha ac i a e he pa icipan s’agen ial supe posi ion,
bu in o he cases he bioda a can pe suade pa ici-
pan s in o e hinking hei own expe iences and
explo ing al e na i e na a i es, al hough pa ici-
pan s e ain he abili y o cons uc ing and making
Figu e 3 Elec ode mal ac i i y (EDA) o Pablo’s walk in A enida da Ig eja (Lisbon), 2022. Da a collec ed wi h an
Empa ica E4 de ice.
The U ban Expe ience h ough Biosensing 7
sense o hose al e na i e na a i es hemsel es. In
any case, he bounded in e e ence caused by bio-
da a can be a gene a i e d i e o deepe and mo e
de ailed discussions abou spa ial expe iences.
Taking his in o accoun , u u e esea ch should
ake a s ep u he and explo e how bioda a can be
employed o elici in-dep h discussions in he con-
ex o pa icipa o y u ban planning and design p oj-
ec s. As biosensing is g adually in oduced in o
u ban design and planning (Hollande and Sussman
2021; Sussman and Hollande 2021), objec i e
app oaches ocused on da a accu acy (in he line o
Kim and Fesenmaie 2015; Sho al, Sch ime , and
Tami 2018b; Bi enboim e al. 2019) can h ea en
pa icipa ion in u ban policies i hey exclude ci i-
zens om he p ocess o making sense o bioda a
and he u ban expe ience (Willis and C oss 2022;
Willis and Nold 2022). Focusing on he po en ial o
bioda a o imp o e he capaci y o u ban ci izens o
e lec ing and communica ing hei own u ban expe-
ience is he e o e a c ucial s ep o gua an ee ha
biosensing app oaches can con ibu e owa d mo e
inclusi e ci ies. 䊏
Acknowledgmen s
The au ho s would like o hank he jou nal edi o s
and wo anonymous e iewe s o hei cons uc i e
c i icism.
Funding
This esea ch was unded by he Fundac¸~
ao pa a a
Ci^
encia e a Tecnologia unde G an No. EXPL/
GES-URB/0273/2021, No. CEECIND/03528/2018,
No. UIDP/00295/2020, No. UIDB/00295/2020, and
No. LA/P/0092/2020.
ORCID
Daniel Pai a h p://o cid.o g/0000-0001-9701-
4705
No es
1
The s udy was conduc ed in s ic con iden iali y. All
pa icipan names a e ic i ious.
2
T adi ional Po uguese g illed chicken ake-away
es au an .
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