Even a little bit late, I would like to contribute to the dscussion
(responding to Dimitris, Daphne, Martin...) on hybrid - city - mapping by
putting forward the notion of CITY-INDEXING:
City_index could be finally conceived as open, structured list of located
city information, supported by an interactive, multilayered map of the city.
Open, stands for its continuous transformation through new data integration.
Structured refers to the terms – subterms relations. Located, involves the
active physical presence of the urban fabric. Interactive, supports the
bottom-up continuous production of the city_index.
In publications, an index is a list of words and associated pointers to
where those words can be found in a document. As pointers are locations in
the text body, an index is a list of locations.
How do we use an index? How an index is created? What is the work of an
indexer? Do we comment, complete, intervene to a book's index? Do we create
our own index while reading a book? What is the meaning of an open,
interactive index?
EASA 2007 - City ndex, (proceedings will be published soon) proposed to
tackle those questions in relation to the city: Can a city be indexed? What
is the meaning of city _index? What could be the content of a city_index?
How do we define the work of a city_indexer? How do we construct an open and
interactive city_index?
City_index could be the evolving common ground of all potential
interventions,
a sort of virtualized city-body, the delocalized topos of every possible
connection leading to future actions.
Hybrid city as an interface will give the posibility to shift from the
PUBLIC to the COMMON:
However, indexing will also have its PHYSICAL POINTS on the urban tissue
>>>>> see INDEX_ MESH: hacking public spaces into common places
http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/soni/IndexMesh.pdf
All my best
Dimitris Papalexopoulos
---------------------------------------------------------------
Dimitris Papalexopoulos
Architect
Assoc. Prof. School of Architecture
National Technical University of Athens
www.archsign.gr
www.ntua.gr/archtech
http://archtech-ntua.blogspot.com/
dplxs@otenet.gr
----- Original Message -----
From: "XARITOS DIMITRIOS" <vedesign@otenet.gr>
To: <yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Yasmin_discussions] hybrid city as interface
>
> Dear Yasminers,
> After thanking again all of you who are contributing to this discussion, I
> would like to share with you some general thoughts and ideas, before
> responding more precisely to some more specific very interesting arguments
> that you have put forward so far.
> Firstly, I would like to say that the subject of: "the hybrid city as an
> interface" is a rather wide subject that relates to many areas/fields and
> therefore can be discussed from many perspectives. And indeed we could
> have proposed a title like: "the hybrid space as an interface", not
> limiting the context of the discussion to the urban environment.
>
> The activity of creating maps of spaces and integrating data
> visualisations within them is one of the aspects of creating an
> environmental representation which could be a part of a hybrid spatial
> experience like the one that a mobile location-based application user may
> have. This process relates to cartography, geography and the politics
> underlying the creation of such representations. and I very much agree
> with Roger and the "data is power" statement which stresses the need for
> providing access to data for all and not for the few who want to maintain
> power.
>
> Another perspective that we may approach this subject from is the social
> interaction aspect. This refers to the use of location – based systems
> which support synchronous multi-user access to the activity taking place
> in the hybrid context of the representation. I will mention a few things
> about our experience of researching this issue in a next message.
> Now, coming back to Martin's very relevant suggestions about map making,
> which I paste below:
>
> " limited by the mapping concept-Googlemaps and even OpenStreetMap
> offer a one size fits all view of the world and users have not choice but
> to follow what appears to be an "objective" standard, which is of course
> no such thing"
>
> Indeed our research group's experience from creating maps to support
> particular location – based (game) activities was that google maps were
> too abstract and also included too many inconsistencies (in the detail at
> a small scale) for them to be adequate in supporting an activity taking
> place at the scale of a neighbourhood. We felt we needed more precise but
> most importantly more expressive (in the way they deal with visualisation)
> and inclusive-of-detail maps, which contained elements essential for this
> particular activity. These environmental elements had to be identified,
> visualised and included after a scrutinising process of studying the
> specific area, in relation to the activity, taking into account the
> activity's requirements and accordingly DESIGNING VISUALLY these elements.
> A thought that comes to mind then is that: if the map is a representation
> of an environment that supports an activity, a creation of a map relates a
> lot to the activity that it supports. On the other hand, when a map is a
> spatial representation as the main end result of the process, then the
> process of generating the map and the manner through which elements are
> visualised and aspects of life are being represented becomes more
> important.
>
> Martin also suggests that:
> "unless the driver for a collaborative map rests in the imagination
> and captures motivations beyond the merely informational, it very quickly
> ceases to have any right to be called art"
>
> Irrespective of whether a location-based system/activity may be called art
> or not, I feel that in creating such systems/activities/interventions, we
> have two main approaches which are fundamentally different: • The driver
> of the map determines pretty much the rules of the game according to which
> the map is generated or (a more closed process scenario) even creates
> their own predesigned map, on which an activity is going to take place
> • The driver of the map considers the generation of the map as being the
> main focus of the process and creates a relatively open system within
> which participants of the process may move in order to create their "own"
> relatively subjective interpretation and accordingly representation of an
> environment. In this case, properties, patterns or characteristics of the
> environment and of activities taking place within it (involving humans and
> any other living organisms) may emerge as a part of the spatial
> representation.
>
> In this second case, I find Martin's metaphor of "creating an architecture
> that people feel comfortable about inhabiting" as very appropriate indeed,
> and this habitation occurs through interpretation and appropriation, I
> would add.
>
> More responses to other very interesting messages soon
> Best wishes
> Dimitris
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