consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals

”

(Debord 2006 [1955]:8). Psychogeography has recently enjoyed something of an intellectual revival through the work of writers and modern-day

󿬂

âneurs

such as London-based Iain Sinclair and Will Self whose re

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ections of walking across the grain of urban and suburban space have held some interest for geographers (see for example Bonnett 2009; Pile 2002, 2005). The stress on interior emotions and on individual behavior is a hallmark of Debord's de

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nition, of the work of the psychogeography writers, and of much of the geographical literature on urban exploration (Bennett 2011a; Garrett 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2012a). Of co ur se , no t al l ur be xe rs ar e in ve st ed in ex pl or in g as ps yc ho ge og ra ph ic experiments of either a political or literary bent, but are more focused on issues of mem ory . Luk e Be nne tt, for exa mpl e, ha s res ear che d urb exe rs int ere ste d in aba ndo ned military installations and has found that for

“

bunkerologists

”

the emphasis is on documenting and cataloging the structures they explore, recording their attributes in straightforward ways albeit with a

“

reverential and memorialist tone

”

(Bennett 2011 a:42 4). Benn ett's resea rch emph asize s that for thes e urbe xers , expe rienc ing an d ex pl or in g th e si te s ar e ju st el e me nt s in a se t of pr ac ti ce s wh ic h in cl ud e th ei r on li ne interactions and efforts at documentation and recording. Holly Prescott (2009, 2011) approaches the practice from a feminist perspective, and considers the meaningful- ness of images and documentation to memory. She discusses the different ways that women explore ruined maternity wards, not in person, but through information po st ed by ur ba n ex pl or er s an d cir cu la te d th ro ug h Fa ce bo ok . Th e wo me n in Pr es co tt' s study are able to explore through their interaction with the images and information po st ed an d re ca ll st or ie s of th e bi rth s of th ei r ch ild re n wh il e di al og in g wi th on e an ot he r online. Though her work is not much cited in geographical literature on urbex, Prescott's research shows how the use of photograph s resulting from urban explo- ra tio n ca n co nt ri bu te to th e

“

commemoration

”

of oth erw ise los t mem ori es through

“

focusing upon UE's deconstruction of the hierarchies of spatial experience and power, and by emphasizin g its re-imag inatio n of the ways in which institu tional spaces are memorialized

”

(Prescott 2009:107). For many urbexers, the creation of a visual record of their explorations through photography and video is a signi

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cant part of what they do. For some, the purpose may be primarily documentary (as in Bennett's 2011a case study), while for other urbexers, the appeal of the TOADS (Temporary, Obsolete, Abandoned, and Derelict Spac es) lies in their distinct ive visual aesth etic and the technica l chall enge s of cap- turing complex and often dark scenes with a camera. The cultural signi

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cance of an

“

aesthetics of decay

”

recognized and valorized by many urbexers also has been noted by Caitlin DeSilvey among other scholars (DeSilvey 2006; see also DeLyser 2004; Pinder 2005; Trigg 2006). Indeed, there is now a whole genre of photogra- phy, much of it contributed by urbexers, known as

“

ruin porn

”

(Greco 2012). The wrecked spaces of Detroit have been a particular focus for such photographic stylists (Leary 2011). The label

“

porn

”

while it may be intended to be dismissive, does raise issues of the consumption of these photographs and of the images' de- ferral of deeper questions concerning exactly how and why it is that Detroit has so many ruins in the

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rst place, similar to the way that consumers of porn do not generally concern themselves with questions of its production. Some argue that

Not Everyone Has (the) Balls

3

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