The Purpose of Technology within a City: Week 9
Over the past week, I have been looking into the idea of implementing Smart City ideals and concepts into a retrofitted urban fabric. Technology within a city is a new concept that is not fully relied on just yet. From the feedback on Tuesday’s class, I narrowed my focus into the Smart City and the interface, data, and purpose that goes along with the chosen topic. I am interested in the life of the tourist within a city. A tourist as someone that is visiting a place and may be unfamiliar with the layout and locations of places within the urban context. I began to narrow my curiosity to this ecology of people from reading many articles on the aspects and information of a “Tourist Metropolitan” (Gladstone). Gladstone identifies 8 other cities that are classified under this umbrella, but Las Vegas sub-categorizes itself in a highly capital-intensive group. After some of my research along with my personal experience of being a tourist, Las Vegas is a labyrinth of many different types of activities primarily located on a 4,2 mile stretch of land (The Strip). I began to relate the concept and layout of the city to that of a mega-mall. The mega mall-type has been integrating technology nodes that help to navigate users through space and to a destination, making their lives easier. Las Vegas is the same way if you begin to combine both the interior and exterior spaces that make up the Las Vegas Strip.
From looking at this, I have begun to narrow down the three topics of study: Purpose, Data, and Interface.
Purpose:
The purpose of the integrated technology would be to help better the quality of experience within the urban fabric. The consistent idea that technology can make our lives easier is something that has had success in proving in the past. As a case study, Las Vegas is a very complex place of “turning right to turn left”(Venturi) and people need a faster way to figure out where to go and to be able to stay in touch with everything that is constantly happening throughout the city. The Strip is complicated and packed full to be able to cater to the needs and experience of the number of tourists. Technology can help people to stay in touch and navigate themselves in and out of casinos and hotels.
Data:
The Strip accommodates about 3 million tourists a year which narrows down to about 343,000 tourists within the city every day. Most people gather around the strip for restaurants, gambling, shopping, hotels, etc. which is all jammed pack into a 4.2 mile stretch of road. This begins to create a maze of activities and locations throughout The Strip. The interface location would be determined by analyzing foot traffic and need to be based on certain locations along the strip or where many spaces begin to intersect. The technology will be accommodating based on need and information data that may also link up live games (betting and gambling) and people can join from a remote location.
Interface:
I am currently looking at the idea of technology through public implementation. This is the idea that nodes will be set up throughout the city and determined based on foot traffic data and the data of information that is deemed necessary. The nodes would primarily consist of nearby activities (restaurants, showtimes, etc.) The system may be set up to give information at a more micro-scale level close to where the node may be located rather than having to sort through information that is farther away.
From this information and inquiry about the smart city, I am beginning to try to rethink my question and narrow it down to fit within the ideas and concept of retrofitting an existing city into that of a Smart City.
How can public implemented technology provide the necessary information (directions, betting, showtimes) to improve the experience of place for people?
I think the question above helps to broaden the scope of the research to something that may be a kit of parts that can then be taken and replicated to other cities for their improvement which begins to hit on my motivation and goal for the research that I have conducted.
If you can provide feedback or thoughts please drop a comment down below.