Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Beyond data collection: Objectives and methods of research using VGI and geo-social media for disaster management

This paper investigates research using VGI and geo-social media in the disaster management context. Relying on the method of systematic mapping, it develops a classification schema that captures three levels of main category, focus, and intended use, and analyzes the relationships with the employed data sources and analysis methods. It focuses the scope to the pioneering field of disaster management, but the described approach and the developed classification schema are easily adaptable to different application domains or future developments. The results show that a hypothesized consolidation of research, characterized through the building of canonical bodies of knowledge and advanced application cases with refined methodology, has not yet happened. The majority of the studies investigate the challenges and potential solutions of data handling, with fewer studies focusing on socio-technological issues or advanced applications. This trend is currently showing no sign of change, highlighting that VGI research is still very much technology-driven as opposed to theory- or application-driven. From the results of the systematic mapping study, the authors formulate and discuss several research objectives for future work, which could lead to a stronger, more theory-driven treatment of the topic VGI in GIScience.Carlos Granell has been partly funded by the Ramón y Cajal Programme (grant number RYC-2014-16913

What makes a city 'smart'?

Taking advantage of information and communications technology tools and techniques for city administration, whether it is for urban planning activities, for transport solutions or many other purposes, is not a new concept. However, in order for a city to be classified as ‘smart’, a synthesis of intelligence that transcends mere utilisation is essential. This article analyses the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective. Existing projects and initiatives were investigated to find out how, and to what extent, these tools are being employed by cities. The advantages and the current shortcomings of smart city are also discussed in order to understand the viability of using these tools

Cities as Living Labs : Increasing the impact of investment in the circular economy for sustainable cities

Aim of the study. From innovation system and policy development point of view, it is vital to understand the impact and added value of EU-funded projects especially in context of the complex societal challenges such as circular economy in cities. By definition Circular Economy (CE) promotes resource minimisation and the adoption of cleaner technologies while maintaining the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible and minimizing waste generation. Living Lab (LL) is an open innovation ecosystem based on a systematic user co-creation approach that integrates public and private, research and innovation activities in communities, placing citizens at the centre of innovation with the help of various approaches, instruments, methods, and tools

Tourism identity in social media: The case of Suzhu, a Chinese historic city

In the context of tourism planning and promotion, there is wide acknowledgement that conceptualisations of tourism identity cannot be grounded merely in physical place, but should also encompass a wide range of factors including, for instance, cultural relations, tourist activities, and social networking. There are opportunities in late modern society for relating the identity of a city’s tourism with digitally-presented tourists’ perceptions and activities through social media studies. This research explores multiple research approaches to delineate the digital identity of Suzhou’s tourist destinations, as presented in online user-generated contents. It is hoped that this social media study can provide supplementary information for tourism bureaus and agencies to make informed judgements on effecting pertinent improvements to optimise existing tourism resources and create more enticing environments for tourists. The research follows a case study approach and conducts an empirical study on Suzhou, a Chinese historic city. The analysis of the results show that the social media study is potentially useful in identifying the key characteristics of particular tourist destinations from visitors’ perspectives that may also be helpful for the evaluation of tourists’ experiences

State of the Art and Future Perspectives in Smart and Sustainable Urban Development

This book contributes to the conceptual and practical knowledge pools in order to improve the research and practice on smart and sustainable urban development by presenting an informed understanding of the subject to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. This book presents contributions—in the form of research articles, literature reviews, case reports, and short communications—offering insights into the smart and sustainable urban development by conducting in-depth conceptual debates, detailed case study descriptions, thorough empirical investigations, systematic literature reviews, or forecasting analyses. This way, the book forms a repository of relevant information, material, and knowledge to support research, policymaking, practice, and the transferability of experiences to address urbanization and other planetary challenges

The Fights of the Forsaken Kings: Caste Conglomeration, Heroism, and Sovereignty in Contemporary South India

This ethnographic and archival study offers insight into Dalit identity politics, Tamil ethno-nationalism, and affective understandings and experiences of sovereignty in contemporary Tamil Nadu, South India. It is an-depth exploration of the recent history and present moment of inter-caste conflict that plagues Tamil Nadu, despite the fact that it is India’s most urbanized state, and among its wealthiest and most industrially developed. Over the course of the past thirty years, spectacular and brutal murders, riots, and police repression have regularly characterized the relationships between groups of politically affiliated individuals we call castes. I historicize and contextualize such incidents, tracking the changing phenomenology of caste as it intersects with the gendered politics of Tamil ethnic identity. In order to do so, I examine the formation of caste conglomerations, which I define as intentionally incorporated political bodies attempting to situate themselves relationally in the context of rapid demographic and technological changes, and the breakdown of formal, intergenerational models of caste differentiation and hierarchy. The practices of intercaste relations in Tamil Nadu, are not disappearing, but are asserting themselves in new and sometimes violent ways as the economic realities and inhabitable spaces of many formerly distinguishable castes become increasingly alike. Responding to the anxiety of disintegrating hierarchy, what were once localized, relatively independent castes are uniting as political bodies that attempt to identify themselves in relation to each other, competing mimetically in a cycle of recursive opposition. I focus on two increasingly visible caste conglomerations – the Devendras and the Thevars – who have been embroiled in a violent conflict in Tamil Nadu since the late 1950s. The recent experiences of the Devendras who are officially classified as Dalit (“untouchable”), and the Thevars who were once socioeconomically dominant in much of Southern Tamil Nadu, exemplify the changing socioeconomic dynamics that foster caste conglomeration. Although the ancestors of many landowning castes ruled over the laborers they relegated to untouchability, their recent economic decline relative to the “untouchables” has unsettled what were once clearly demarcated social hierarchies. A new and unstable economy of collective rank is developing to fill this vacuum, as the self-fashioned leaders of caste conglomerations construct their identities. The process of caste conglomeration dissolves antecedent boundaries of caste even as it reconstitutes castes as larger and therefore more powerful groups, thus simultaneously demonstrating both the fluidity and intractability of caste logics.  The identitarian claims of caste conglomerations are carved into the new urban spaces they inhabit with visual and auditory signifiers, which are heightened during memorial celebrations of recently remembered caste history. Caste heroes who embody the often conflicting Tamil masculine ideals of selfless courage and refined civility play an important role in such acts of representing history through which caste conglomerations proclaim the dignity they are owed in the present through the glories of their past. I explore this process as it is energized by the antagonistic power struggle between the Devendras and the Thevars. The still tenuously united Devendras fight back against their relegation to Dalit status by claiming that they have been misclassified in the caste order, and that they are not, in fact, Dalits. Instead, they are the original people, and therefore rightful rulers, of the Tamil country. The Thevars who are a slightly older conglomeration of three previously endogamous but similarly ranked castes, counter such claims with their own claims to Tamil sovereignty, contributing to the unintended fallout of Tamil ethno-nationalism, or Dravidianism. Dominating state-level politics since the middle of the twentieth century, Dravidianism has attempted to configure a united non-Brahmin identity, which might have dissolved the boundaries between the vast majority of Tamil castes. It has instead resulted in widespread, caste-based competition over Tamil identity. The Devendras are increasingly vying for power through the idiom of Tamil identity, distancing themselves from Dalits (themselves an enormous caste conglomeration founded on the disavowal of caste), despite the Dalits’ electoral success. In tracing the Devendras’ strategy, my dissertation locates the boundary of pan-Indic Dalit political identity, suggesting that the Dalit category inadequately describes the experiences of formerly “untouchable” groups who are drawn, like many others, to the powerful calls of ethnicity. Such struggles of caste, entangled with ethno-nationalism, demonstrate the yearning for sovereignty that has arisen alongside the distrusted state. The parties and caste organizations of the Devendras and Thevars, like those of other rapidly multiplying caste conglomerations, reflect the desires of the disempowered, and operate as parastate authorities offering material benefits, collective pride, and transactions with government agents, which are troubled by the conglomerations’ need for legitimation that only the government can offer. These complicated processes of negotiating new and relatively unstable economies of power drive the questions of my dissertation, which unfold through the stories of Tamil men who experience the forces of caste identity and the government in their everyday lives. Caste conglomeration is not another example of Sanskritization through which castes ascend the social ladder by emulating those above them. Instead, the process I examine is competitive, mimetic, and recursive, presupposing the relative equality brought about by economic changes and by the promises of the democratic nation-state. While one generation ago, there were stark differences between landowning castes and the laboring castes now known as Devendras, today, Devendras have the resources to compete in terms of their public visibility, levels of education, and historical claims. In fact, their assertions are so resounding that Thevars sometimes follow Devendras in their strategic calls for recognition. I do not, however, discount the brutalities of Thevar violence against Devendras, but instead aim to shed light on the social context of such acts. It is the profound anxiety of growing similarity, rather than difference, that erupts in the excess of violence

The new role of citizens as co-creators of socio-digital innovations and urban development: A case-study of participation and co-creation in the smart city development of Barcelona.

Die vorliegende Masterarbeit untersucht aktuelle Trends in der Stadtplanung und Design, um zu analysieren, wie Bürger an der Mitgestaltung von Smart Cities beteiligt werden können. Ziel ist es, ein ganzheitliches Verständnis der neueren Konzepte und Methoden von Co-Design und Co-creation zu entwickeln und diese mit den etablierteren Forschungsfeldern der Bürgerbeteiligung und Koproduktion zu vergleichen. Koproduktion und Co-Creation können als verbesserte Partizipation oder Partnerschaft in Bezug auf die Partizipationsleiter verstanden werden, da beide Konzepte Beziehungen auf Augenhöhe zwischen Bürger und Stadtverwaltung voraussetzen. In ähnlicher Weise gesteht Co-Design, Designern und Usern die gleichen Rechte und Möglichkeiten im Gestaltungsprozess zu. Es wird eine ganzheitliche Definition des Co-Creation-Prozesses dargelegt, die Erkenntnisse aus Co-Design, Co-Produktion und Partizipation beinhaltet und Co-Creation als einen Prozess versteht, der aus Initiation, Design und Produktion besteht. Die Smart City als sich rasch entwickelndes Forschungsfeld, Definitionen und Charakteristika sowie populäre imaginäre und dominante Diskurse werden vorgestellt. Um die Rolle des Bürgers zur Smart City zu verstehen, werden die unterschiedlichen Verständnisse von Smart Governance erläutert und Aspekte von Open Data, Big Data und Big Data Analytics sowie die Rolle von Bürgern und Gefahren der Smart City diskutiert. In der Fallstudie zur Bürgerbeteiligung werden Methoden und Werkzeuge zur Förderung der Mitgestaltung einer Smart City anhand Partizipationsleiter von (Arnstein 1969) diskutiert und analysiert. Die Smart City Entwicklung in Barcelona wird vor dem Hintergrund der gemeinschaftlichen Entwicklung sozialer Innovationen in Smart Cities analysiert. Die Fallstudie verweist auf Mängel im Hinblick auf Bürgerbeteiligung an der Entscheidungsfindung und an der Verlagerung von Machtverhältnissen in der Entwicklung der Smart City Barcelona, die dafür aber mit neuen Werkzeugen und Technologien für partizipative Stadtentwicklung experimentiert und sich zu einem alternativen Smart City Modell entwickelt. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse sind abschließend im Methodenkatalog zusammengefasst, der Methoden und Tools aus Theorie und Fallstudie aufgreift um zu dem Verständnis beizutragen, wie Smart Cities gemeinsam gestaltet werden können.This thesis studies current trends in planning and design studies to analyse how citizens can participate in the co-creation of smart cities. It aims at developing a holistic understanding of the new concepts and methods of co-creation, and co-design and compares those with the more established research fields of citizen participation and co-production. Co-production and co-creation can be understood as instances of enhanced participation or as a partnership in participation, as both concepts require equal relationships among citizens and the city administration. Similarly, co-design requires designers and users to share the same rights and possibilities in the design process. A holistic definition of the co-creation process is provided that incorporates insights from co-design, co-production and participation and defines co-creation as a process consisting of initiation, design and production. The smart city as emerging research field, definitions and characteristics, as well as popular imaginary and dominant discourses, are presented. To grasp the role of the citizen in the smart city, the different understandings of smart governance are explained and aspects of to open data, big data and big data analytics, as well as the role of citizens and perils of the smart city are discussed. In the case-study of citizen participation methods and tools fostering the co-creation of a smart city are discussed and analysed with the introduced participation framework, which is based on the ladder of participation (Arnstein 1969). The smart city development in Barcelona is analysed against the backdrop of co-creating social innovations in smart cities. There might be a lack of citizen participation in decision-making and shifting power relations in the city, which experiments nonetheless with new tools and technologies for the participatory environment experiments with new formats and technologies for economic and urban development and evolves to become an alternative model of the smart city. The main findings are included in the toolbox based on methods and tools from theory and the case-study contributing to the knowledge of how to co-create of smart cities

A Unified And Green Platform For Smartphone Sensing

Smartphones have become key communication and entertainment devices in people\u27s daily life. Sensors on (or attached to) smartphones can enable attractive sensing applications in different domains, including environmental monitoring, social networking, healthcare, transportation, etc. Most existing smartphone sensing systems are application-specific. How to leverage smartphones\u27 sensing capability to make them become unified information providers for various applications has not yet been fully explored. This dissertation presents a unified and green platform for smartphone sensing, which has the following desirable features: 1) It can support various smartphone sensing applications; 2) It is personalizable; 2) It is energy-efficient; and 3) It can be easily extended to support new sensors. Two novel sensing applications are built and integrated into this unified platform: SOR and LIPS. SOR is a smartphone Sensing based Objective Ranking (SOR) system. Different from a few subjective online review and recommendation systems (such as Yelp and TripAdvisor), SOR ranks a target place based on data collected via smartphone sensing. LIPS is a system that learns the LIfestyles of mobile users via smartPhone Sensing (LIPS). Combining both unsupervised and supervised learning, a hybrid scheme is proposed to characterize lifestyle and predict future activities of mobile users. This dissertation also studies how to use the cloud as a coordinator to assist smartphones for sensing collaboratively with the objective of reducing sensing energy consumption. A novel probabilistic model is built to address the GPS-less energy-efficient crowd sensing problem. Provably-good approximation algorithms are presented to enable smartphones to sense collaboratively without accurate locations such that sensing coverage requirements can be met with limited energy consumption