Process of making the hearth of the neighbourhood: from analogue to digital public space design

We are living in a period where communities and individuals have the chance to operate more directly in the city, and present their own opinions and proposals on how the city can be developed and designed in accordance with their needs and expectations. This period is also characterised by change in the general approach to the city as self-organised system that is free from the division of bottom and top urban players. This has led to the creation of a new, open and collaborative city-making method called “urban gaming”. On the one hand, the game is a laboratory for “understanding and strategizing” and on the other it is assumed as a ‘generative’ method. This tool could also be seen as an interface for the creation of knowledge and negotiation in the abstract decision-making process and material construction of the city. The game itself can be designed depending on the specific situation and scale to achieve more sustainable plans and proposals. Due to its complexity and the specificity of urban problems, urban game may use analogue as well as digital techniques. To illustrate this contemporary tool, the present paper will use the experience of the urban gaming process that was held in Belgrade. The game was created and implemented to develop a local public space, based on the neighbourhood initiative addressed to the representatives of the local government of the City of Belgrade. In this case study, seen as an urban experiment, special attention is placed on the different phases of the process, the results that have been achieved, as well as the use of analogue and digital tools during the application of the method

CyberParks: The interface between people, places and technology

This open access book is about public open spaces, about people, and about the relationship between them and the role of technology in this relationship. It is about different approaches, methods, empirical studies, and concerns about a phenomenon that is increasingly being in the centre of sciences and strategies – the penetration of digital technologies in the urban space. As the main outcome of the CyberParks Project, this book aims at fostering the understanding about the current and future interactions of the nexus people, public spaces and technology. It addresses a wide range of challenges and multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging phenomena related to the penetration of technology in people’s lifestyles - affecting therefore the whole society, and with this, the production and use of public spaces. Cyberparks coined the term cyberpark to describe the mediated public space, that emerging type of urban spaces where nature and cybertechnologies blend together to generate hybrid experiences and enhance quality of life

Citizen empowerment and innovation in the data-rich city

This book analyzes the ongoing transformation in the “smart city” paradigm and explores the possibilities that technological innovations offer for the effective involvement of ordinary citizens in collective knowledge production and decision-making processes within the context of urban planning and management. To so, it pursues an interdisciplinary approach, with contributions from a range of experts including city managers, public policy makers, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) specialists, and researchers. The first two parts of the book focus on the generation and use of data by citizens, with or without institutional support, and the professional management of data in city governance, highlighting the social connectivity and livability aspects essential to vibrant and healthy urban environments. In turn, the third part presents inspiring case studies that illustrate how data-driven solutions can empower people and improve urban environments, including enhanced sustainability. The book will appeal to all those who are interested in the required transformation in the planning, management, and operations of data-rich cities and the ways in which such cities can employ the latest technologies to use data efficiently, promoting data access, data sharing, and interoperability

Cybercities: Mediated Public Open Spaces - A Matter of Interaction and Interfaces.

In the near past, sources of information about public open spaces were: people, the place itself and historical archives. Accordingly, the information could be obtained by interviewing the visitors, by reading some poorly equipped signs on monuments or by research in libraries. Today, a new source appeared: The place itself covers its own information by the mean of the growing of the ICT (Information Communication Technologies). In addition, the information can be personalised in a way each people can access it individually. Ten years ago, a left-over newspaper on a park bench was a compact piece of information. Today, the newspaper resides on a smartphone in our pockets. In the future, the park bench will still be there, but dramatically changed to an IoT (Internet of things) object, bringing information to the people. Therefore, there is the need to re-think the park bench as an interface. A simple, fundamental point is: the quality of the interface rules the quality of the information. With a special focus on the latter, this chapter discusses how the classical model of the city is enhanced with the senseable city concept and how digital information influences, adopts, transforms and re-configures different objects in urban areas

Space Digitization as a Tool to Enhance the Identity of Historic Public Space

The 21st century is the era of new technologies, Internet, overall digitalization, and the applications that represent a major advance in science and technology. On the other hand, these innovative technologies have had a very challenging impact on various social activities. People are spending more time in a virtual space, instead going out, socialising or enjoining outdoor recreation. Despite this, digitalization has also led to new ideas and directions for creativity, such as the creation of various applications that can encourage human mobility and interaction in the open space of a settlement. Accordingly, these applications can supplement and upgrade the values of existing open spaces, adding them a new, ‘digitized’ dimension. This opportunity especially comes to light when these open spaces, such as public squares, streets or quays, contain the elements of culture and heritage that make up their identity. The aim of this paper is to examine the level which the digitalization of heritage, history, tradition, and culture is presented in open spaces in Serbia, including public squares and promenades, as well as heritage sites outside settlements. Based on this, a list of the nationally promoted digitized culture and heritage is formed, while few best-practice examples are elaborated. The focus is on their connection to real space and its identity. Therefore, all enlisted items are mapped. In that sense, the final contribution of the research is to understand the role of these innovative applications in the revitalisation and activation of open public spaces based on this new dimension of their identity

Socio-spatial practices: An introduction and overview

We are now firmly in a digital era and technologies are ever-present. Since the introduction of new digital technologies and ICTs, such as smart phones, the literature has presented some contrasting analyses of the socio-spatial practices and impacts that have resulted from the uptake of new technologies in urban public spaces. On one hand, there is a particular set of debates that have expressed concerns that the introduction of digital technologies, especially personal ICTs, is leading to a greater withdrawal from urban public spaces

Designing the city as a place or product? How space is marginalised in the smart city

The volume explores the question of what it means for a city to be 'smart', raises some of the tensions emerging in smart city developments, and considers the implications for future ways of inhabiting and understanding the urban condition ..

Data and the city – accessibility and openness. a cybersalon paper on open data

This paper showcases examples of bottom–up open data and smart city applications and identifies lessons for future such efforts. Examples include Changify, a neighbourhood-based platform for residents, businesses, and companies; Open Sensors, which provides APIs to help businesses, startups, and individuals develop applications for the Internet of Things; and Cybersalon’s Hackney Treasures. a location-based mobile app that uses Wikipedia entries geolocated in Hackney borough to map notable local residents. Other experiments with sensors and open data by Cybersalon members include Ilze Black and Nanda Khaorapapong's The Breather, a "breathing" balloon that uses high-end, sophisticated sensors to make air quality visible; and James Moulding's AirPublic, which measures pollution levels. Based on Cybersalon's experience to date, getting data to the people is difficult, circuitous, and slow, requiring an intricate process of leadership, public relations, and perseverance. Although there are myriad tools and initiatives, there is no one solution for the actual transfer of that data

PAX—Patios de la Axerquía Urban Regeneration and Social Innovation in a Heritage Context

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