The Flaneur

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Baudelaire’s Paris was a city of narrow streets, labyrinthine alleys, squares, parks, cafes, windows. Thresholds, and tantalizing glimpses. This was the city of the flaneur - the leisured stroller among the crowds, who inspects the curiosities of the emerging modern metropolis with a cool and ironic eye. Unlike shoppers, commuters, and tourists with guidebooks, the flaneur did not have a definite goal, a discursive walk per se: he was driven by whim and momentary curiosity , and he was always open to diversion. The inner life of a changing city was revealed to him - so he hoped, at least-through chance encounters and unexpected details.

Extract taken from William J Mitchell, "Placing Words: Symbols, Space, and the City" MIT Press, London, p 155.