papers Archives - Digital Urban

Ubiquitous geographic information in the emergent Metaverse

Andy — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 09:33:26 +0000

Another new paper – this time with Michael Batty –

We sketch a brief history of the development of virtual geographic environments which build on online gaming, three-dimensional representations of cities, and the notion that computer technologies are now so all-pervasive that many different models of the same phenomenon, in this case, geospatial systems, can now be built. This enables new forms of analysis that let us explore future spatial scenarios which address key urban problems through virtual environments. These allow us to experiment with the near future and to this end, we identify three key issues. First, we look at how we can use new technologies to develop all-embracing digital environments which are loosely called the “Metaverse”; second, the development of many models which form various kinds of digital twins having different degrees of “closeness” to the real system; and third, the emergence of platform economies that are beginning to push Metaverse-like technologies into the economic world of networked markets. We conclude with suggestions that these technologies can be used to inform our plan-making capabilities, for example, through geodesign, and we suggest how we might address the key challenges that need to be addressed to make their approaches ever more relevant to urban planning.

You can read the full paper over the Transactions in GIS – Hudson-Smith, A., & Batty, M. (2022). Ubiquitous geographic information in the emergent Metaverse. Transactions in GIS, 26, 1147– 1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/tgis.12932

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Applying cybernetic principles to the co-creation of spaces

Andy — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 14:25:45 +0000

Another new paper, written with a number of colleagues from The Bartlett School of Planning –

The paper is based on the experience of creating and piloting a functioning ‘Incubator’ crowdsourcing platform for designing public spaces in an estate regeneration project in South London. The paper uses a cybernetics framework to analyse and present the way the platform itself was created and how issues of effectiveness, efficiency and equity were dealt with. It explores the generic qualities of interface and reviews applications of variety reduction in established crowdsourcing CS) models. It briefly presents the legal and socio-spatial parameters (like property rights) associated with the creation of the Incubators platform as well as the generic rules applicable to human-spatial relationships, based on studies exploring human-spatial interactions. Practical constraints including costs, catchments, life-span and meaningful feedback are looked into, followed by a discussion on social and political limitations associated with this form of public participation.

It can be read in full in Land Use Policy – Designing an incubator of public spaces platform: Applying cybernetic principles to the co-creation of spaces. https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722002149

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Mobile Communications Technologies in Tree Time: The Listening Wood

Andy — Fri, 06 May 2022 12:22:00 +0000

This article presents a practice-led investigation by a cross-disciplinary team of artists and computer scientists into the potential for mobile and digital communications technologies to engage visitors to London’s Hampstead Heath with the histories of its veteran urban trees. Focusing on the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies within the arboreal environment for the digital poetic walk, The Listening Wood, it considers the reciprocal impact of “tree time” on the development of “slow tech.”

You can read the paper via – Lovett, Leah & Hay, Duncan & Hudson-Smith, Andy & Jode, Martin. (2020). Mobile Communications Technologies in Tree Time: The Listening Wood. Leonardo. 54. 1-2. 10.1162/leon_a_02006.

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SMART – Self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technologies

Andy — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:55:00 +0000

Data stores, intelligent real-time data collection, access to city-wide infrastructure and urban informatics, which involves new and powerful analytics associated with using big data to understand and control various functions in the city, have the potential to change everything we know about urban systems. Here we define various analytics that involve self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technologies (whose acronym is associated with the term smart) which we suggest define the notion that cities are becoming intelligent in the operation of routine functions and provide a snapshot of various developments that we have been associated with.

This was an enjoyable paper to write as we aimed to define ‘SMART’ in the context of the city – You can read the paper via – A Hudson-Smith, S Hügel, F Roumpani (202), The Routledge Companion to Smart Cities, 383-394, Self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technologies: Smart cities and real-time data

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Crypto Collectibles, Museum Funding and OpenGLAM: Challenges, Opportunities and the Potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Andy — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 10:02:00 +0000

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) make it technically possible for digital assets to be owned and traded, introducing the concept of scarcity in the digital realm for the first time. Resulting from this technical development, this paper asks the question, do they provide an opportunity for fundraising for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM), by selling ownership of digital copies of their collections? Although NFTs in their current format were first invented in 2017 as a means for game players to trade virtual goods, they reached the mainstream in 2021, when the auction house Christie’s held their first-ever sale exclusively for an NFT of a digital image, that was eventually sold for a record 69 million USD. The potential of NFTs to generate significant revenue for artists and museums by selling effectively a cryptographically signed copy of a digital image (similar to real-world limited editions, which are signed and numbered copies of a given artwork), has sparked the interest of the financially deprived museum and heritage sector with world-renowned institutions such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Hermitage Museum, having already employed NFTs in order to raise funds. Concerns surrounding the environmental impact of blockchain technology and the rise of malicious projects, exploiting previously digitised heritage content made available through OpenGLAM licensing, have attracted criticism over the speculative use of the technology. In this paper, we present the current state of affairs in relation to NFTs and the cultural heritage sector, identifying challenges, whilst highlighting opportunities that they create for revenue generation, in order to help address the ever-increasing financial challenges of galleries and museums.

You can read the paper via Valeonti F, Bikakis A, Terras M, Speed C, Hudson-Smith A, Chalkias K. Crypto Collectibles, Museum Funding and OpenGLAM: Challenges, Opportunities and the Potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(21):9931. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11219931

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Future Internet, Volume 4, Issue 2: 16 New Papers

Andy — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:08:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce the publication of the following issue:

Future Internet, Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2012), Pages Pages 362-617

http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/

Line Lundvoll Nilsen
Article: Collaboration between Professionals: The Use of Videoconferencing for Delivering E-Health
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 362-371; doi:10.3390/fi4020362
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/362/

Sean Kennedy, Owen Molloy, Robert Stewart, Paul Jacob, Maria Maleshkova and Frank Doheny
Article: A Semantically Automated Protocol Adapter for Mapping SOAP Web Services to RESTful HTTP Format to Enable the Web Infrastructure, Enhance Web Service Interoperability and Ease Web Service Migration
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 372-395; doi:10.3390/fi4020372
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/372/

Kostas Zafiropoulos, Vasiliki Vrana and Dimitrios Vagianos
Article: Bloggers’ Community Characteristics and Influence within Greek Political Blogosphere
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 396-412; doi:10.3390/fi4020396
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/396/

John N. Davies, Paul Comerford and Vic Grout
Article: Principles of Eliminating Access Control Lists within a Domain
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 413-429; doi:10.3390/fi4020413
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/413/

Eduardo B. Fernandez, Ola Ajaj, Ingrid Buckley, Nelly Delessy-Gassant, Keiko Hashizume and Maria M. Larrondo-Petrie
Article: A Survey of Patterns for Web Services Security and Reliability Standards
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 430-450; doi:10.3390/fi4020430
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/430/

Maurizio Pollino, Grazia Fattoruso, Luigi La Porta, Antonio Bruno Della Rocca and Valentina James
Article: Collaborative Open Source Geospatial Tools and Maps Supporting the Response Planning to Disastrous Earthquake Events
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 451-468; doi:10.3390/fi4020451
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/451/

David G. Rosado, Rafael Gómez, Daniel Mellado and Eduardo Fernández-Medina
Article: Security Analysis in the Migration to Cloud Environments
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 469-487; doi:10.3390/fi4020469
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/469/

Sebastian Müller, Franziska Brecht, Benjamin Fabian, Steffen Kunz and Dominik Kunze
Article: Distributed Performance Measurement and Usability Assessment of the Tor Anonymization Network
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 488-513; doi:10.3390/fi4020488
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/488/

Sam Nordfeldt and Carina Berterö
Article: Young Patients’ Views on the Open Web 2.0 Childhood Diabetes Patient Portal: A Qualitative Study
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 514-527; doi:10.3390/fi4020514
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/514/

Kostas Zafiropoulos, Ioannis Karavasilis and Vasiliki Vrana
Article: Assessing the Adoption of e-Government Services by Teachers in Greece
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 528-544; doi:10.3390/fi4020528
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/528/

Jason Farman
Editorial: Introduction to the Social Transformations from the Mobile Internet Special Issue
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 545-550; doi:10.3390/fi4020545
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/545/

David A. Newell, Margaret M. Pembroke and William E. Boyd
Article: Crowd Sourcing for Conservation: Web 2.0 a Powerful Tool for Biologists
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 551-562; doi:10.3390/fi4020551
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/551/

Francesco Rotondo
Article: The U-City Paradigm: Opportunities and Risks for E-Democracy in Collaborative Planning
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 563-574; doi:10.3390/fi4020563
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/563/

Marcus Goetz
Article: Using Crowdsourced Indoor Geodata for the Creation of a Three-Dimensional Indoor Routing Web Application
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 575-591; doi:10.3390/fi4020575
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/575/

Chiara Garau
Article: Focus on Citizens: Public Engagement with Online and Face-to-Face Participation—A Case Study
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 592-606; doi:10.3390/fi4020592
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/592/

Quynh Lê, Hoang Boi Nguyen and Tony Barnett
Article: Smart Homes for Older People: Positive Aging in a Digital World
Future Internet 2012, 4(2), 607-617; doi:10.3390/fi4020607
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/4/2/607/

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