Walking the Internet

exploring NYC’s physical & cultural infrastructure

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Title	Walking the Internet
Subtitle	exploring NYC’s physical & cultural infrastructure
Instructors	Alex Wolfe & Laurel Schwulst
Dates	3 walks in NYC: Saturday, July 12 Saturday, July 19 Saturday, July 26 ( 2025 )
Time	1-4pm on the above Saturdays ( in-person )
Location	Each walk starts at a different place in Manhattan. Here are possible locations, subject to change: Financial District Midtown Times Square/Bryant Park ( NYC )
Price	$500 ( two half priced scholarships available )
Application Deadline	June 20, 2025 at 11:59pm EST — APPLY

How does one “see” the internet? Through walking plus some supplemental readings and dialogue, we will explore how the internet is not some ethereal, untouchable thing, but physically rooted — connected by underwater submarine cables and served from data centers containing many literal computers worldwide. Simultaneously, how can exploring the internet as we can easily in the physical world — meandering, drifting, maybe losing sense of direction — bring new life into it and vice versa?

In this 3 week class, we will meet three consecutive Saturday afternoons in July to explore physical and cultural infrastructure in New York City. This class is taught by Alex Wolfe and Laurel Schwulst and begins in different places in Manhattan each week.

Manhole cover with a breaking-the-matrix design of a spherical object coming into a grid, like when Flatland is entered by a sphere — Con Edison's Millennium Manhole Cover by Karim Rashid (2000)

Keywords

Dérive
Infrastructure
Layers
Networks
Physical
Public
Systems
Technology
The “Cloud”
Walking

cover of Networks of New York book with a manhole cover on the cover

Background

Most of us experience the internet through screens, browsers, and apps — layers of interface that make it feel abstract, even invisible. Yet beneath our feet and above our heads lie the often-overlooked systems that allow it to function.

In the book Networks of New York: An Illustrated Field Guide to Urban Internet Infrastructure (2016), author Ingrid Burrington goes on a multi-year quest to “see” the internet — asking people how it works, how you access it, and where specifically “is” it?

This is how I find the Internet, now that it’s been two years since I started looking: I go for a walk literally anywhere in the city. In the span of about three city blocks, I can usually figure out where there’s buried fiber optic cable (and, sometimes, who owns that cable), which devices hanging above traffic intersections are talking to one another, how many cell towers are in the area, and whether I’m currently under surveillance (by the NYPD or a private observer).

'shallow cover' written in cursive orange spraypaint on NYC street — Once you start noticing the spray-painted annotations on the sidewalks, you start seeing them everywhere, like a hidden language. Here, “shallow cover” means the underground cable isn't very deep under the pavement.

Book open to spread to decode the mysterious cursive spraypaintings by communication companies

There’s an “everyday magic” in practicing seeing the internet as a part of a city’s landscape and everyday life. Burrington continues:

It’s weirdly comforting, inspiring even, to walk down Sixth Avenue with the knowledge that buried underneath my feet is a fiber optic cable that is carrying conversations, photographs, stories, secrets, and *lives* as beams of light through hair-thin strands of glass.

a plaque on the sidewalk that says 'Information is light. Information, in itself, about anything, is light.' - Tom Stoppard (1937- ) with beams of light falling to the floor — Plaque on 41st Street, Library Way

The internet and our society is largely obsessed with speed, optimization, and having everything available immediately, regardless of any adverse effects, and our tools are increasingly designed for instant gratification. In “Taking a Walk Across the Internet,” Eric Li writes:

Instead of racing off to load the next page as quickly as possible, what would happen if we took a moment to breathe? What if we didn’t always know where our next click might lead us? What if we were able to decongest this information superhighway? Perhaps we can look to art for an answer.

hand drawn maps by Yuji Agematsu showing walking routes in NYC — The artist Yuji Agematsu documents his walks through cities. In 1980, when he moved from Japan to New York, he began taking daily exploratory walks, picking up debris along the way to use in assemblage-style sculptures. — Source

six tiny micro sculptures of trash and other colored debris inside cellophane, each neatly ordered on a shelf — Yuji Agematsu’s tiny assemblage sculptures, each in a cellophane world

Alex and Laurel, the co-teachers of this class, have long been inspired by artists who embrace meandering and drifting — in both physical and digital realms. A couple years ago, they collaborated on their first “Walking Tour of the Internet” in NYC as part of Laurel’s design class at Princeton.

tiny metal plaque that says WALKING THE INTERNET with a url: walkingtheinter.net/princeton — Walking the Internet tiny metal plaque installed at Princeton. The project has since been archived at an updated URL.

While putting their first internet walk together, Alex and Laurel visited some “POPS” or “Privately Owned Public Spaces,” which are spaces run by commercial enterprises and open to public — like walkways, plazas, arcades, small parks, and atriums — which are created in exchange for valuable zoning concessions. Often underutilized and still exclusive, POPS are curious liminal zones. Today there are over 590 in New York City alone, which you can begin exploring on this digital map.

The Elevated Acre at 55 Water Street, a POPS (Privately Owned Public Space)

people lounging on the astroturf of 55 Water Street with a large building nearby — The Elevated Acre (a POPS) is just that — a one-acre meadow (of astroturf) elevated above the city streets. Its entrance is fairly anonymous, an escalator at 55 Water Street, set back from the sidewalk — Source

What if we explored POPS and other related public spaces hiding in plain sight for our own purposes — utilizing them to write, loiter, or gather? And while we’re at it, what’s the nature of public space on the internet, now and in an ideal future?

a cone stone table in an idyllic environment with trees and old university buildings — Public Table, Scott Burton (1978–79) at Princeton University

Alex Wolfe is an artist, writer, and educator. His writing and photography explore the relationship between movement, the built environment, and memory.

Laurel Schwulst is an artist, designer, and educator. She creates works as living systems: spaces that cultivate curiosity, learning, and reflection. She has taught design at Princeton, Yale, and her own learning initiatives: Fruitful School and Ultralight School.

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FAQ

( What is the class format? )

This class is a hybrid of a guided group walk, seminar and reading discussion, and opportunity to socialize a little while learning more about our surroundings in NYC. The class meets for three separate walks in Manhattan, each happening on a concurrent Saturday in July, from 1-4pm. Specific dates: 7.12, 7.19, 7.26, and covering a different area: Financial District, Midtown, and Times Square/Bryant Park. (Note: These specific locations are subject to change, but regardless the walks will happen in Manhattan.)

( What materials do I need? )

Please wear comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, and bring plenty of water. Note taking materials are encouraged.

( Are scholarships available? )

Yes, there are two half-priced slots available for individuals who need help funding the class.

( Can I participate remotely somehow? )

Given the strong walking component of this class, we are only doing in-person in NYC. But feel free to write us at walking-the-internet@ultralight.school if you are interested 1) us bringing “Walking the Internet” to your city or 2) in possible virtual offerings.

( How can I learn more about this in general? )

We assembled a living bibliography of citations. Feel free to send us any references you think we should know about, too, at walking-the-internet@ultralight.school, or add them to the Are.na channel.

( Who might be a good fit for this class? )

We imagine this class is ideal for anyone — designers, writers, artists, programmers, urbanists, walkers, and others — who are interested in the intersection of the physical and digital world. We encourage students who have a strong interest in the hidden systems that allow the world to function and open to hybrid class structures. This is a social class and best suited for people who enjoy conversation. Since this class has a primary walking component, we imagine it’s best for people who are comfortable walking distances up to 5 miles in potentially hot and humid weather typical during NYC summers.

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