New ways conditioning space and place in dynamic and transformative environments: liaising between the worlds of matter and the virtual

Spatial planning is currently being confronted with unprecedented change, which is taking place at the interface between traditional environments and the rapidly evolving virtual world (Axford et al. 2007, Sidhy and Doyle 2016, De Waal 2013). This situation provokes one of the most serious questions for contemporary spatial planning: How can we develop a frame of reference for planning action and planning intervention within a world of ongoing and discontinuous change? Change under discussion here is partially digitally constructed and virtually produced, affecting and transforming traditional space and place. No one knows precisely what the developments that emerge from this hybrid space between the material and virtual worlds will precipitate. Moreover, it is difficult to say what effects will materialize, not to mention the consequences of these developments: the current virtual world is already stunning and full of promise. New imaginary spaces are opening up (Sherman and Craig 2002), such as augmented realities, virtual realities, gamified environments and ‘sensored’ places within which digital access has replaced traditional mechanisms and means of interaction