[wsfii-discuss] hacking the built city

Wed Nov 2 04:09:22 UTC 2005

this smells of ego-posting.  sorry -  but I really want to make sure
that the wireless community is exposed to this idea.  If i'm wrong - i
would rather know sooner rather than later.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003701.html

Michael Lenczner wrote to me suggesting that I check out a recent post
on his weblog about some of the larger issues raised by his work at
Ile Sans Fil, a Montreal community wireless project. It's a
provocative piece, as he compares the value of free community wifi to
that of more traditional centers of community activity (such as
neighborhood soccer fields). I'm not sure we're seeing that model in
too many places, but I heartily agree with his underlying point: the
use of these networked technologies by artists and non-profit
organizations can fundamentally reshape the way that citizens
experience their built environments.

    We are hacking the built city.

    This statement is based on the idea that as wireless devices and
services proliferate and ubiquitous computing becomes a reality, the
physical environment (especially the built city) is rapidly becoming
enhanced space or mixed-reality. The supposedly seperate existences of
off-line and on-line are intersecting and overlapping - most rapidly
in cities. [...]

    To be sure, we have constraints on how much we can hack the city -
it's not as if we can easily directly confront the power of the the
police or building developpers. But we can work to allow spaces to
better retain memories, to promote both stronger and a larger number
of looser associations between individual, to increase valuing of art
and artists, or to help people get laid (more) on the basis of shared
interests as well as looks.

This is a fascinating transformation to watch. When public wireless
Internet spots first popped up, there was a distinct geeky edge to
them, which soon broadened into the perception that they were really
only for students and knowledge workers still on the clock on
weekends. But while this latter concept remains the dominant one in
mainstream advertising and news reports, the growing integration of
wireless tools into the every day lives of creative communities means
that these networks are no longer just the province of people who
"have to" be online. Projects such as Dencity, Neighborhood
Satellites, and other smart environment efforts are only possible when
a wireless infrastructure is not just present, but expected.

This is already true, to an extent, with mobile phone networks,
although in this case the carrier-driven limitations of the services
militate against taking full advantage of their potential. Projects
like a Placeopedia/Location-based Wikipedia mashup are really only
possible with an open Internet connection.

When the mass of people come to expect the presence of open wireless
networks, and are willing to participate in both the creation and the
use of information that is only relevant in the context of physical
location, the transformation will be compete. The overlay of
information and connection the technology enables will no longer have
to suffer geeky labels like "augmented reality." Instead, we'll just
call it community