Atmosphere As a Characteristic of Public Space in Emotional Economy

For a long time atmosphere as an aesthetic and phenomenological category was not a subject of study, but recently this phenomenon has been attracting more attention. This study explores atmosphere as a characteristic of public space and how atmosphere is capitalized in the contemporary urban context. The study considers 3 main approaches to the study of atmosphere (phenomenological, affective and pragmatic) and compares the category to other related categories (e.g. ambiance). Attention is paid to how atmospheres are created, circulated and consumed in relation to different approaches. The popularity of urban atmospheres is increasing due to the transformation of consumption habits as part of the transition to an experience society, which allows us to hypothesise that atmospheres are becoming an important element of the emotional economy and becoming an instrument tool of affective labour. The study also closes a gap in atmospheric theory related to the phenomenon of the existence of a whole layer of public spaces that recreate some other time and place (the work calls such atmospheres mimetic). Such places do not simply create an atmosphere, but recreate a myth. In this connection the author refers to R. Barthes' concept of myth. The analysis of feedback from the Tripadvisor.ru website is intended to illustrate the impact of atmosphere on the experience of space and to help identify what may be essential in the construction of atmosphere.