Code and the Transduction of Space Martin Dodge* and Rob Kitchin** *Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London **Department of Geography and NIRSA, National University of Ireland, Maynooth The effects of software (code) on the spatial formation of everyday life are best understood through a theoretical framework that utilizes the concepts of technicity (the productive power of technology to make things happen) and transduction (the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices). Examples from the lives of three Londoners illustrate that code makes a difference to everyday life because its technicity alternatively modulates space through processes of transduction. Space needs to be theorized as ontogenetic, that is, understood as continually being brought into existence through transductive practices (practices that change the conditions under which space is (re)made). The nature of space transduced by code is detailed and illustrated with respect to domestic living, work, communication, transport, and consumption. Key Words: everyday life, code, ontogenesis, transduction, technicity, space. [S]pace is neither absolute, relative or relational in itself , but it can become one or all simultaneously depending on the circumstances. The problem of the proper conceptu- alization of space is resolved through human practice with respect to it. —(Harvey 1973, 13, italics original, our underline). S oftware, commonly referred to as code, is in- creasingly central to the spatial formation of collective life. Code produces, monitors, surveys, augments, and controls many aspects of daily living, in- cluding the infrastructures of communication, transport, finance, and utilities such as water and electricity. In- deed, such is the importance of code that everyday tasks associated with work, travel, communication, con- sumption, health, and domestic living are ever more dependent on code for their functioning. In some cases, this dependence is so great that if the code ‘‘crashes,’’ 1 then the task cannot be completed because manual al- ternatives have been discontinued or are inadequate to cope with demand. For example, the ‘‘crash’’ of the air traffic control system at Tokyo Air Traffic Control Cen- ter, 1–2 March 2003, meant the cancellation of over 203 flights, with flights resuming only after the system was reestablished (Risks List 2003). Seemingly minor failures in relatively insignificant software systems for routine monitoring can have very serious consequences, as demonstrated by the large-scale power outage affecting millions of people in Northeast United States and Canada in August 2003. Official reports conclude that a software failure in the alarm system in the control center of FirstEnergy in Akron, Ohio was a significant con- tributing factor (U.S.–Canada Power System Outage Task Force 2004). Perhaps the best illustration of the contemporary social and economic importance of code was the global panic associated with the Y2K ‘‘millen- nium bug,’’ which triggered a worldwide overhaul of operating systems. The cost to the U.S. federal govern- ment alone was estimated at $8.34 billion, while gov- ernments and businesses across the world spent an estimated $200–600 billion to address the problem (Bennett and Dodd 2000). And yet, despite the growing use and pervasiveness of code in contemporary society, code and its effects on the production of space have largely been ignored by geographers in favor of studying the technologies and infrastructures that code facilitates (although see Thrift and French 2002). Accordingly, this article provides an analysis of the effects of code on daily life and the production of space and explains the differ- ence code makes through an interrogation of the rela- tionship between technology, society, and space. To structure the discussion, the article is divided into six sections. The first section details the form and nature of code and provides a typology of the various ways it is embedded in everyday objects, infrastructures, and processes. The extent and effects of code on everyday life are then illustrated through three vignettes, each of which details a day in the life of an individual living in London. In the third section, a theoretical framework for understanding the effects of code and making sense of the vignettes is developed. This framework draws on the ideas of Bruno Latour, Guy Simondon, and Adrian Mackenzie and utilizes the concepts of technicity (the productive power of technology to make things happen) and transduction (the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices) to explain the difference code makes to everyday life. In the fol- lowing section, these theoretical ideas are extended to Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 95(1), 2005, pp. 162–180 r 2005 by Association of American Geographers Initial submission, December 2003; final submission, June 2004; final acceptance, June 2004 Published by Blackwell Publishing, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, and 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, U.K.