Zhao, Yichao; (2025) (IM)Mobile Connectivity: Investigating the Influence of Location-Aware Smartphones on Spatial Practice in Chinese Residential Communities. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, smartphone’s location-aware features became exceptionally significant in daily life in China. During lockdowns, these technologies served as essential virtual windows for socio-spatial interaction, while the mandatory use of contact tracing apps regulated mobility when limited movement was permitted. Situated within the fields of mobile media, communication, and locative media studies, this thesis examines how these features were experienced under Covid-19 conditions in China. This research employed an ethnographic approach with interviews and field notes conducted over eight months in two residential communities in Jinan, China, beginning in 2022. Drawing from the experiences of 24 residents, the thesis reveals how access to smartphones’ location-based features allows individuals to coordinate activities and access location-based information. It demonstrates how this location-based information reshapes their understanding of urban space during quarantine and influences their socio-spatial interactions. The thesis addresses the use of contact tracing apps in government administration to control mobility for public health management, discussing how they have influenced participants’ spatial practices. It evaluates how participants perceived mandatory location tracking and influenced their understanding of privacy during the Covid-19 period. Furthermore, the research identifies that compliance with location sharing through contact tracing apps has become an expression of civic responsibility under health crisis conditions. It argues that contact tracing apps have become a symbol of national pride. By documenting how smartphone location awareness functioned during pandemic restrictions, this thesis contributes to the literature on locative media, extending theoretical frameworks that previously assumed free mobility in urban environments in the pre-pandemic era. It demonstrates how smartphones’ location-aware features acquire new social and spatial meanings during crises, offering insights into the evolving relationship between location-based technologies, spatial governance, and identity construction under conditions of restricted mobility.

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