Platform Partners and Participatory Mobility Mapping: Mediating Indian Cityscapes

• In Event: 20220 - Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtable VI: East and South Asia

Abstract

This research explores the urban experience of platform-based (Uber and Ola) drivers in India, specifically in the cities of Chennai and Kolkata, using participatory mobility mapping. The study highlights how these platform partners navigate and perceive the cityscapes, which are shaped by platform infrastructures, physical infrastructures, socio-cultural dynamics, and their own experiences. The researchers co-constructed knowledge with the drivers through diverse data collection methods that included multimodal digital data such as GPS traces, maps, voice notes, videos, images and texts shared through social media (WhatsApp and Telegram) as well as ethnographic interviews to map their unique spatial understanding. The study reveals how these platform partners perspectives challenge and supplement conventional urban narratives by exposing hidden geographies and temporal rhythms of the city not seen on mobility platforms or mapping applications. This approach brings visibility to spatial politics and inequalities through the lens of the drivers, thus enriching the comprehension of urban landscapes.

Authors

• Shriram Venkatraman, University of Southern Denmark

• Rajorshi Ray, International Institute of Information Technology

• Jillet Sarah Sam