Networked Urbanism

design thinking initiatives for a better urban life

Design critics: Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo, principals of Ecosistema Urbano

Visualizing different aspects of reality using georeferenced data available through various channels and geolocating user-generated inputs. Mapping makes reading the city at different scales with different layers and filters possible, and is also an intuitive and powerful channel for participation.

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We got excited when we found out that the 5x5x5 submission we blogged about earlier was successful. In consequence, we will present our idea at Boston’s Architecture Exposition next Tuesday. As luck has it, we will also speak at MIT twice next week. If nothing else, we are looking forward to some really good feedback from experts of the field.

Follow this link for the event: http://www.abexpo.com/conference/5x5x5-variations-on-a-smarter-city/

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth

 


MPYS_ConceptualOrganization

A graphic representation of the structure and terminology of the MYPS application.

When using MYPS, the authographer (author + cartographer) links each PS they upload to a “Journey”, which will be compiled into a map with the geotagged messages  and sent to the listed recipients.  The preferences for each journey are set up by the authographer when the journey is initiated, including the contact information for the recipients and the intended length of the journey.  The lifelong journey cannot be closed until the entire account is deactivated; the planned journeys have established dates when they will close, and the unplanned journeys can be closed manually at any time. Your companions are the journeys fellow authographers have sent to you.

Deactivation and recipient contact information are controlled and updated, respectively, through periodic emails.  An e-prompt will ask you once every 3 months to update your contact information, your recipients’ contact information, and to confirm your continued use.  If the authographer does not respond to 3 successive prompts, the entire account will automatically deactivate.  This can be disabled, temporarily, if the authographer does not plan on having e-mail or internet access for an extended period of time.

Each PS can be a note, a photo, a video, a recording, a sketch or a placeholder, which will allow you to revisit the PS and add a message later off-site, or simply remain as a “place” on the map.

 

UI_Organization

An outline of the user interface organization (using FreeMind software).


 


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This week, we went to Harvard’s iLab for a panel discussion on design and entrepreneurship. Although the speakers addressed this relationship on a higher level than we do (design impact on business models), we came out inspired to test our technology sooner rather than later, expose its flaws, get feedback, and adjust incrementally.

Follow this link for the event: http://ilab.harvard.edu/calendar-event/content/design-entrepreneurship

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth

 


wk8

This week was a great week in terms of the amount of feedback we received at studio midterms. While this can be a grueling exercise, it is certainly a luxury to be exposed to people who find the wholes of the project and brainstorm their filling with you. We will now take in some new ideas and readjust our focus for the next weeks.

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth


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This week we came across the President’s Challenge for entrepreneurship hosted by the Harvard Innovation Lab. With ‘efficient governing’ launching as a new category this year, we might work on putting together a submission. At the information meeting, we already met a few people who expressed interest in our project. In following up with these new connections, we hope to not only to kindle beneficial relationships, but perhaps spark a new and exciting endeavor.

Follow this link for the website of the challenge: http://ilab.harvard.edu/experiential-learning/presidents-challenge

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth


5x5x5 Scheerbarth Liang McCourt from Scott Liang on Vimeo.

This week was dictated by preparing our submission for the 5x5x5 Variations on a Smarter City competition hosted by the Urban Design Committee of Boston’s Society of Architects. The accompanying conference fits our project idea beautifully and we hope to get exposure to the jurors in the process. Preparing the submission video certainly helped to tighten the project narrative.

Follow this link for the call for entries: http://www.architects.org/committees/news/urban-design-committee-call-video-entries-5x5x5-variations-smarter-city

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth


On September 30th, we went to visit the MIT Senseable City Lab. We were shown around the lab and introduced to a selection of past and current projects. Check out the video for some detailed introductions to a selection of four projects, responsive environments, local warming, signature of humanity, and live singapore. Thank you Anthony for your time and the warm welcome.

Follow this link for the website of the lab: http://senseable.mit.edu

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth

 


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The first week of the project can be described by google doc, erase, google doc, erase, google doc. We collectively pondered about the base line rationale and narrative of the project. Later that week, we took the same process to the walls: idea paint, wipe, idea paint, wipe, idea paint… We drew up wireframes and had them dictate our thinking as to how the user interface needed to perform.

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth


After our work resume, here’s our video for VUOTIdiSardegna, the Social Database for abandoned places in Sardinia.


VUOTIdiSardegna is a social database born to map the Voids present in the Nurra territory and in the rest of Sardinia, and to attract attention on them giving proposals about their possible future.

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The project begins from the topic of the Void and its possible interpretations. After analyzing the Void concept in culture, art and architecture, we developed a personal vision of the Void culminated in the “City of Voids”, an ideal city where every cluster corresponds to a different Void declination; in general, the Void is conceived as dynamic and moving. The advancement consists in the Void research in the Nurra region; we investigated the Nurra history and we went to the different hamlets to meet people, in order to understand how they feel the Void in their own territory: the result is the presence of the Memory Void in a context of Social Void. This outcome brought us to categorize these Voids as Potential Voids.

After the previous result and a deep research about the importance of building regeneration , we began the Void mapping, that led to VUOTIdiSardegna. The website is a platform that connects the different mapping voids realities already existing, and operating in the territory; the aim is to create the most complete database about abandoned places in Sardinia, thanks to the work of organizations like SardegnaAbbandonata and of every person and association, public and private, interested in contribute to the project. In fact, it’s a totally open website and this allows everyone to participate to the mapping process and the database construction, a social database because every attendee becomes a user linked with the voids and the other users.

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VUOTIdiSardegna is set up as a tool thanks to which it’s possible to obtain different information layers about the Voids and make overlaps with them. In this way, the website facilitates the Voids use, in facts it connects empty space availability with any people need compatible with them. VUOTIdiSardegna is configured as a triple network: the Voids network, the Users networ and the Ideas network; they’re interconnected each other.

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For every Void, it’s possible to see who are the users connected with it; for every user, it’s possible to see what proposal he made for that Void and for the others, and so on, in order to have connections and links between people, the Voids they mapped and the ideas they have for those Voids. In particular, every Void has its own page, where everyone – after the registration to the website and becoming a user – can make 5 simple actions:

  1. Add infos about the Void, contributing with images, videos and general informations
  2. See proposals made by other users for that Void
  3. Add proposals saying what the user wants for that place
  4. See what’s around, a list of similar examples
  5. See the action that was made for that void

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Focusing on the action, it’s a kind of intervention on the building, in order to show a possible new life for it. In particular, our action shot for the Consorzio Agrario building in Pozzo San Nicola, a village depending on the Stintino Municipality. Since it was impossible to refresh the whole building with no resources, we provided to reactivate just a strip of it with different operations along: wall whitewash, climbing wall, a bench, the greengrass, a flooring, a bricks flooring, a path, a bikepath and the sidewalk refurbishment.

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In a 80 cm strip, we gave a snapshot of a possibility for the abandoned building. The hope is to make Nurra (and Sardinia) inhabitants aware of the importance of these places, for the memory that they carry on and for their worth not only in the past but also in the future.

PicMonkey Collage 2

Actually, the website is working. It’s a testing phase and it will be followed by its implementation. We guess that it could really represent an important tool for Sardinia and for Sardinian people.

Eleonora, Claudio e Giuseppe


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