With the imminence of the metaverse, our collective life is called to migrate almost entirely to the Internet. Guillaume Éthier, sociologist and professor of theories of the city at UQAM, begins with his micro-essay The analog city. Rethinking urbanity in the digital age a reflection on the future of our urban environments. Without denying the potential of the digital city, it highlights, in the cities of yesterday and today, the initiatives that counterbalance hyperconnectivity in favor of the creation of tangible links between city dwellers. The researcher’s proposals — which advocate spaces conducive to slowness, the creation of a collective identity, healthy debates, diversity and inclusion — are in no way revolutionary. There are already samples of it, which have proven themselves. In symbiosis with his subject, Éthier campaigns for a search for solutions based on simplicity and accessibility. It draws the contours of a universe of possibilities based on the concrete, of course, but which is struggling for the moment to go beyond the borders of the more fortunate neighborhoods.
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