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Affective roadscapes and beyond

Chronotopes, affective regimes, and traffic signage in Mudu, China

ORCiD logo with link | University of Macau
Published online: 23 March 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.25035.li
Abstract
This article explores how roadscapes are affectively shaped for multiple purposes, with particular attention to chronotopic productions of specific types of affect in relation to traffic signage. Through an analysis of photographed traffic signs, which are complemented by ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews, it presents a case study of Mudu, China, focusing on chronotopes of affect that construct and constitute it into an affective space. The analysis identifies three distinctive types of affect — familial love, considerateness, and intolerance — that are co-existing and synthesized into coherent affective regimes within chronotopic configurations of traffic signage. Findings reveal that affective roadscapes serve not only as mechanisms for traffic regulation, but as strategic tools for value promotion and place branding. This study contributes to the interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of Linguistic Landscape studies, affect theory, and tourism studies, offering new insights into how public signage mediates affective experience and facilitates the spatial commodification in tourist contexts.
摘要
通过关注交通标志上时空生成的情感, 本文探讨如何通过塑造道路景观的情感以达到多种目的。以中国苏州市木渎镇的道路景观为例，结合民族志观察和半结构式访谈，本文以拍摄的交通标志为分析对象，研究构建和构成情感空间的时空性情感模式。分析发现家庭之爱、体贴和零容忍这三种类型的独特情感并存在交通标志中，这些情感经过时空生成和配置后形成综合连贯的情感体制。该研究结果表明，情感化后的道路景观不仅是交通管理的机制，更是推广价值观和塑造地方品牌的战略工具。因此，本文的贡献不仅仅促进了语言景观研究、情感理论和旅游研究之间的交叉学科对话，而且为如何通过公共标志调动情感体验和促进旅游业背景下的空间商品化提供了新的见解。
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Chronotope, affective regime, and affect arrangement
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Research setting
    • 3.2Research design and data collection
  • 4.Chronotopization and affective roadscapes: Analysis
    • 4.1Chronotopic affect of familial love
    • 4.2Chronotopic affect of considerateness
    • 4.3Chronotopic affect of intolerance
  • 5.Discussion: Beyond traffic regulation
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (82)
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