Publication

From Digital City Design Workshop 07

This page is the fluid outline of our report. Please paste any thoughts you may have regarding any topic, even if it is not the one that you have focused on to date. 

 As you write text for the final presentation, paste it in to this page, so that we can all be aware of one another's writing. Much of the report will rely on diagrams, which can easily be added to this page but are not required.

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Introduction and Overview

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Goals

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Systems

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Mobility, parking, and Traffic

What are the problems with mobility, parking, and traffic in Oltrarno?
- Narrow streets have to accommodate moving automobiles, endless streams of scooters, and parking for these machines. The leftover margins are given to pedestrians and bicycles, but not systematically -- cars in a hurry often find right of way or parking on the sidewalks.

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Environmental Filtering: river cleansing and waste

Smart-trash and Digital Litmus projects

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Introduction

What are the environmental issues present in Oltrarno?
What is the concept of environmental filtering?

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Introduction

The concept of environmental filtering...

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Nervous system (networking and sensing)

perhaps a subset of integrated network below

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Lightscape

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Soundscape

what is the problem?

1. traffic noise obscures the sound identities of places in Oltrarno.

2. there is evidence of a youth culture that has a desire for self-expression and communication in the public realm of Oltrarno, but the restrictions of the historic built environment constrain this need.

3. there are small spaces, or "nooks", throughout Oltrarno that are underutilized.

what will be done?

we propose a series of digital sound interventions in strategic areas of Oltrarno with the following goals:

1. add a virtual layer of beauty to the neighborhood

2. transform noise into sound and music

3. introduce sound and content as instruments of "triangulation"

4. address conflicts in the use of public space

5. privilege everyday moments over commercially oriented special events.

We present three approaches to creating a layered soundscape:

1. TRANSLATE physical qualities of built form and the activities of people in public spaces into AMBIENT and INTERACTIVE SOUND through SONIC PIXELS.

2. REVEAL the narratives associated with everyday places in Oltrarno using OPEN SOURCE audio content and SPOT SOUNDS

3. TRANSPOSE delightful sounds from the park areas in the neighborhood to INDIVIDUALS with DIGITAL DEVICES in places overwhelmed by traffic noise.

who will benefit?

this layered soundscape will benefit RESIDENTS by inviting them to CAPTURE and DIFFUSE sounds in the neighborhood that they find interesting and enjoyable.

the insertion and manipulation of sounds in the public realm will act as "triangulation" and has the potential to create INTERACTION between people, be they residents or tourists, young or old.

we believe the soundscapes in Oltrarno will particularly engage young people in revealing the variety that exists within the sonic landscape of their neighborhood.

where and how will it be done?

SONIC PIXELS use digital sensors and directed sound to capture and express the physical structure, movement and activities of public spaces in oltrarno. - INTERACTIVE in Via Santo Spirito - AMBIENT in Piazza Pitti

SPOT SOUNDS place audio spotlights in nooks such as the sculpture by Ponte Vecchio and behind Santo Spirito church. these present opportunities to insert narrative content that is provided by community members through an open source platform.

iHUSH allows people to download or stream nature sounds (like birdsongs and waterfalls) directly from giardino boboli and giardino torrigiani on their personal digital devices (such as iPods) while moving through via romana and via dei sarragli. residents and visitors can contribute to the giardini audio archive by capturing nature sounds via digital devices like recorders or cell phones.

how will you do it?

INPUT

people can capture sounds around the neighborhood with digital recorders or cell phones and upload them to a SOUNDSCAPES website using the wifi network

uploaders can assign sounds to a specific archive, for example: -- nature sounds to giardini audio archive -- place narratives to spot sounds archive

people can also use the website to program the sonic pixels - this would be an intuitive interface accessible to people with basic technical skills. technologically advanced people can submit more sophisticated algorhythms to manipulate the sonic pixels.

a SOUNDSCAPES "maintainer" approves sounds assigned to archives and programs or algorhythms submitted to the sonic pixels.

OUTPUT

SONIC PIXELS are activated according to the way they are programmed to respond to people's movement or other environmental qualities. ambient and interactive sound occurs when people enter the spaces equipped with sensors. ambient sound behaves like light -- changing in intensity and focus. interactive sound responds to activity.

SPOT SOUNDS are activated when people with RFID tags that identify them as interested in hearing narrative content from the spot sounds archive walk into a nook outfitted with an audio spotlight. the audio spotlight then directs relevant narrative content to the user.

iHUSH "soundtags" via serragli and via romana to counteract traffic noise so that people with wirelessly enabled INDIVIDUAL DEVICES can download or stream nature sound files from the surrounding giardini while moving along those streets.

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Infoscape, interpretative and way-finding systems

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An intergrated system concept

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Introduction

What is a digital community?
Needs - Elders, Families, Tourists (data, images, vignettes)

users

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Oltrarno Digital Community

The digital community consists of three vital components: physical interfaces (hardware), content (sofware), and management ("human"ware). These components and their subcomponents are shown below.

concept diagram

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Content

In order to create a digital community that reinforces the physical community, it will be important to network our interventions in a way that makes sense to the users. The Oltrarno Digital Network (Oltrarno.net) will serve as the backbone for our networked surfaces. These include kiosks, walls, laptops or phones. From a combination of information modules (weather, traffic, etc.) and networks (for each of the specific user groups listed in the previous section), pages can be built for each interface.

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Modules

Calendar
Soundscape
Weather
Arno Health Meter
Smart Transportation Information
Directory

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Networks

Each user group has unique needs that can be met by the networks. Potential uses for each group include:

Elderly: mobility --; social interaction --; communication; shopping; training
Families: transporation; education; scheduling; communication; marketplace
Business/Craftspeople: e-commerce; business and technical support; logistics and supply management; communication

Short-term user: calendar; community information (reviews, shop locations, &tc); social interaction; marketplace

content diagram

schematic example web "portal"

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Management

Users need to desire and actually engage the technological intervention. Officials need to be able to ensure its continued operation and maintenance. Many a great technological intervention have quickly become dust gatherers because these were ignored.

Ensuring that the network becomes utilized to its fullest requires users to be aware of the network and ways to access it, as well as have the knowledge to actually utilize it. The former component is achieved through physical symbols of the network, such as light poles that indicate digital public access points. Computer training already exists in Oltrarno, so training for this network, which is especially vital for residents and elderly, will be facilitated through specialized digital activity centers located throughout the neighborhood.

While the infrastructure and creation of the network could initially be funded by the government, its ongoing operation and maintenance would be best ensured through the creation of a special authority or organization. This organization should be located in Oltrarno and serve to help incubate a digital workshop community. The 21st century craftsmen working in these workshops will not only run Oltrarno's network, but like the other craftsmen in Oltrarno, could export their expertise to other cities and counties.

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