Material Pragmatism: Mobilities Design at the crossing of post-phenomenology and pragmatism

During more than a decade, research into Mobilities and urban design/architecture has led to a growing exploration of pragmatism as one underpinning stream of thought (Jensen 2013, 2017; Jensen & Lanng 2016). At least since the publishing of ‘Staging Mobilities’ (Jensen, 2013) the research field of ‘mobilities design’ has taken shape. Material Pragmatism (might) be the adequate framing of this research. Material Pragmatism is based on this type of questioning:• What makes this specific mobile situation possible?• What are the actual consequences of design decisions and interventions, and how are these ‘staging’ mobilities?• What is the name of ‘my’ mobility experience, what does it mean, and how does it materialize?• How does it feel to be moved (and be moving) within contemporary infrastructural landscapes of Mobilities?• What kinds of agencies are present in specific mobile situations, and what is the dynamic relationship between human and non-human actants? • How is agency manifesting itself as ‘distributed’ and what are the roles of materiality, materialities, and materials in this relational ‘dance of agency’? Material Pragmatism explores how e.g. design thinking, pragmatism, new materialities, ANT/STS, and Post-phenomenology might (or might not) connect. The paper is a framing exercise and use examples from research into everyday life Mobilities as empirical parables for an open-minded and critical-reflective discussion of the potential merits of Material Pragmatism.