Assembling Co-presence: Exploring the Socio-Material Dynamics of Social Interaction in Malmö

Sammanfattning

The thesis explores the agency of material artefacts in shaping co-presence and facilitating social interaction in three central squares in Malmö, Sweden: Stortorget, Lilla Torg, and Gustav Adolfs Torg. Drawing on a relational approach to space and Actor-Network Theory, the study combines structured and unstructured observations to analyse patterns of mobility, activity, and interaction. Findings show that specific artefacts, particularly those affording seating possibilities, play a key role in enabling meaningful co-presence. The analysis reveals how key material artefacts have contributed to the stabilisation of certain behaviours and mobility patterns, creating distinct atmospheres across the squares. Lilla Torg, for example, exhibits a highly stabilized network centred around the restaurant culture. The thesis concludes that artefacts are not passive elements but actively co-produce public life, offering affordances that can both invite and inhibit interaction.