Last week we hosted a #citytalk tweetchat on the topic of The Digital City, and the busy discussion offered both a glimpse into how digital tools have changed the way we engage with the built environment and a vision for the future of the tech-enabled city. Co-hosted with Future Cape Town and our friends at the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the discussion reached over 30,000 people. Here’s our favourite moments:
1. Digital engagement
Digital technology has already changed the way we engage with our cities, but which services have done the most? This one was easy:
A1 Boring answer, but I’d be nowhere without Google Maps on my iPhone. Actually, I could be anywhere… #citytalk
— Joe Peach (@thisbigcity) June 28, 2012
A1: Google streetview changed how I navigate my city on foot. Often go to street view from maps to find visual clues to location #CityTalk — andre_wessels (@CityWalker_ct) June 28, 2012
A1 I just tried to navigate 4 foreign cities without internet on my phone. No google maps, google or yelp. It was painful. #citytalk — Ameya (@CaptainPlanIt) June 28, 2012
2. Digital city = smart city? Digital services generate a wealth of data, but have they made cities smarter?
@thisbigcity @BMWGuggLab you can have boatloads of data, but without people using it effectively cities won’t get any smarter #citytalk — courtney claessens (@sidewalkballet) June 28, 2012
A2: In SF, they’re using #opendata to create a more efficient public #transit system. See demo here: vimeo.com/5315413 #citytalk — Jace Deloney (@JaceDeloney) June 28, 2012
3. Getting city governments on board How can city leaders be convinced to embrace the digital revolution? Is broadband the starting point? Some of your thoughts:
A3 I think part of the problem is figuring out what embracing the digital revolution is, beyond transit apps… #citytalk — BMW Guggenheim Lab (@BMWGuggLab) June 28, 2012
A3: leaders are looking for big ideas that save money- hey are often open to digital if it will improve the city & cut other costs #citytalk — Philips (@LivableCities) June 28, 2012
A4. more accessible, but not more inclusive– techno-elitist? re @Livehoods #citytalk — courtney claessens (@sidewalkballet) June 28, 2012
@thisbigcity A4- depends. Smartphone apps and the like rarely help the poorest, but data collection can. #citytalk — Ameya (@CaptainPlanIt) June 28, 2012
5. Smartphones
A5 Digital city is an ecosystem of technologies—not a single one reigns supreme. Smartphones, networks, IoT, sensors, etc #citytalk — Plant-in City (@PlantinCity) June 28, 2012
A5: I should clarify, I totally think screens/AR can enhance our cities, but the smartphone isn’t the right tool for it #citytalk — Joe Peach (@thisbigcity) June 28, 2012
6. Sacrifices for the digital city
A6: We’ve sacrificed serendipitous interactions w transition to Digital City. I often chose to walk different route than GPS says. #citytalk — Jace Deloney (@JaceDeloney) June 28, 2012
A6 Personal interaction.I can do almost all my business without leaving the house.Thanks god for the coffee shop ! #citytalk — steve inch (@1sjichi) June 28, 2012
A6: It’s easy to romanticise city past. I don’t think we did stuff like speak to strangers any more when cities were less digital #citytalk — Joe Peach (@thisbigcity) June 28, 2012
7. Notable digital cities
Which cities or areas are doing a good job with digital?
A7. Boston’s New Urban Mechanics comes to mind @newurbanmechs #citytalk — courtney claessens (@sidewalkballet) June 28, 2012
In Hamilton, digital is key in our @supercrawl street party! #supercrawl #citytalk — Kayla Jonas(@jonaskayla) June 28, 2012
8. The future of the digital city
The city has already changed significantly over the last ten years, and digital technologies have played a part in that. So what might we be faced with in 2022? Here’s some #citytalk predictions:
A8: Digital will be even more integrated in our cities in 10 years, but it won’t be everywhere. Sometimes, analogue makes sense #citytalk — Joe Peach (@thisbigcity) June 28, 2012
A8: In 10yrs, our digital cities will resemble an urban ecosystem. We’ll begin optimizing our cities’ many systems to work as one. #citytalk — Jace Deloney (@JaceDeloney) June 28, 2012
A8: hopefully more civic engagement on local issues. not everyone can make public meetings#citytalk
— Kayla Jonas(@jonaskayla) June 28, 2012
To illustrate why in 10yrs things won’t have changed to much – ppl still eating at a table, IN SPACE google.co.za/imgres?q=astro… #citytalk
— Robert Bowen (@ArchiRube) June 28, 2012
Image courtesy of Stuck in Customs at flickr.com
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