About
The Digital Market Place
(short presentation of the The
Digital Market Place and the research project, august 2003)
The electronic neighbourhood
– an extension of the urban space
(longer presentation of the the research project , september
2002)
Every year the residents,
associations, institutions and organisations in Nørrebro and
Now the market place can
also be visited from home via the Internet, as there has been constructed a
digital 3D-model of the market place with all its booths and activities. This
means that from home – like in a computer game – you can take part in the
information, activities and experiences that are offered in the market place and
chat with other visitors.
The
digital 3D-model is similar to the real market place, but it creates its own
universe in the green surroundings of the
The digital medium has its strength in making it possible to get in
contact with everybody with access to the Internet across physical and cultural
boundaries. Actually a whole new universe is created – a new type of urban
space designed for meetings.
The Electronic Market Place remains on the Internet even when the cultural
fair days are over, and the booths are gone. Then this new meeting place is
passed to the Regeneration Secretariat and the residents, who can improve and
develop the market place further, as more activities are started in the area.
It is
the research project The Electronic
Neighbourhood who with support from the Business Affairs- and Housing
Administration (Erhvervs- og Boligstyrelsen) and the Ministry of Integration has
developed the digital model. Researchers from the
The
purpose of the project is to use the new technology in urban renewal trying to
promote the participation of the local residents and improve the dialog between
these, professionals and the authorities.
On the homepage www.e-kvarter.dk you can read more about the purpose and
activities.
The practical parts of the
project are worked out in partnership with
On a trip in the area,
accessibility problems for wheel chair users and perambulators are shown with
texts and photos. Finally for certain localities more detailed models are worked
out. Here you can see the work of some of the project groups (Asminderødgade
and the alley by the Youth House).
With this trip through the
3D-citylandscape everybody can get a visual impression of the ideas and
experience them more realistic.
Contact:
The electronic neighbourhood – an extension of the urban space
(Text from the exhibition Catalogue - Fields of urban Research, Copenhagen oktober/december 2002)
The Electronic Neighbourhood project (the e-kvarter) is part of major research into the impact of information technology (IT) on urban development and urban planning.
IT is not only some fancy new technology that makes it possible to rationalise work. IT is now the basis for societal development in the so-called ‘network society’.
Urban development in the network society is based on two aspects of the city: the digital city and the physical city. On one hand the digital city is taking over functions that traditionally belonged to the physical city. Several functions are being carried out by means of information technology without any kind of physical artefacts: ‘The software beats the hardware’ (W. J. Mitchell 1995). On the other hand IT is becoming part of the infrastructure of the physical city in the form of ‘intelligent’ artefacts and architecture that function as interfaces for digital information (New Architecture of Information).
Similarly urban planning is experiencing a change of paradigms in the form of new types of urban regeneration and urban planning: conventional functional plans are being extended by extremely complex, flexible models in which representative democracy is combined with partnerships and active participation and rational thinking is combined with reflective thinking on the part of all players in the city context. In this change the involvement of users is intensified and the professionals are given new roles, the result being not only better physical solutions but also a spin-off benefit in the form of new networks between the various players who are essential in the development of new solutions.
Research is being conducted on two fronts at the same time: theoretical studies and practical experiments.
Theoretical studies of urban development and urban planning in the network society are being carried out collaboratively by researchers representing the humanities and natural science within the framework of an interdisciplinary research project called MODINET [[i]]. The purpose of this project is to study new digital media cultures and the network society’s impact on politics and culture, including changes in political and democratic processes and the development of new organisational forms and discourses in the light of the transformation of the existing public sphere.
‘The electronic neighbourhood’ is a project involving experiments with extensive use of information technology in connection with an urban regeneration project in an inner city district in Copenhagen called Nørrebro Park [[ii]].
The secretariat of the urban regeneration project and a number of active residents involved in various working groups are developing and regenerating the district. They use information technology in a very targeted way. The research project follows and documents the process in order to enable other local authorities to learn from the experience gained in this project. In addition, the project is to contribute to the development of IT-based tools for facilitation of urban development processes, primarily the development of a digital 3D model of the area and dialogue with residents. In addition the project seeks to stimulate the various players involved by using the Internet in an aggressive and constructive way.
The project is based on the experience gained from the use of information technology in various planning contexts, for example the design and use of digitised 3D city models [[iii]]. As regards the involvement of residents and special groups, the project is based on a project entitled Urban architecture in urban regeneration based on dialogue between professionals and residents [[iv]], which was a spin-off project of the Holmbladsgade urban regeneration project in Copenhagen. ‘The electronic neighbourhood’ project is also based on experience gained from the first experiments with the use of information technology in local communities, for example on the island of Bornholm [[v]].
The methodology applied is dialogue-based research, i.e. research that monitors and evaluates activities on an ongoing basis while at the same time contributing to corrective measures and providing proposals for solutions [[vi]].
The project is currently involved in four activities: the design of a Geographical Information System (GIS) for the area, the preparation of a digital 3D model of the area, the establishment of a digital workshop for project groups, and the organisation of photo safaris for residents.
Geographical
Information System for the area
Based on the digital technical map prepared by the City of Copenhagen, objects
such as blocks of buildings, individual buildings and roads are delimited.
Buildings are unambiguously identified so that they can be related to data in
the official building register. An Internet GIS server has been established so
as to make it possible to publicise data on the Internet which is
important for the planning of the area. The data publicised must of course
comply with current legislation on digital publication and publication on the
Internet. All registration relating to the neighbourhood is based on the GIS for
the area, including the 3D model of the area.
Digital
3D model of the area
The first step in the project has been to make a spatial digital basic model of
the Nørrebro Park area which is similar to the ‘mahogany model’ of
Copenhagen made by the City of Copenhagen, the scale being 1:500. The buildings
in this digital model feature roof shapes, stair towers as well as pavements,
streets and trees. Further detailing of the basic model will be carried out in
collaboration with residents in the area, the purpose being to focus on local
values and landmarks that should be incorporated into the various projects.
Software developed by specialists are used for the city model and the various proposals presented. Consequently we endeavour to develop new methods to describe and visualise the proposals so as to ensure that expert knowledge is not necessary to understand the proposals. Currently the project is involved in three streetspace initiatives. Project researchers participate in debate meetings in local project groups where they carry out interactive translation of the issues debated and enter various sketches and outline proposals from project group participants into computers so as to make the material available on the Internet. This translation function is called the VIGGO interface. Later on instructors or superusers are to be trained to carry out this function.
Internet-based
workshop for working groups (groupware)
Currently eleven project groups have been established in relation to urban
regeneration initiatives in the Nørrebro Park area. Some of these groups have
established subgroups. To ensure coherence in the regeneration initiatives it is
important that the members of the project groups as well as other residents in
the area are able to follow the entire regeneration process. Information in and
between groups as well as information to the public is provided through
so-called groupware. The groupware system means that each individual
project group is given space on the Internet where it can enter all kinds of
material, background data, agendas, minutes, activity calendars, chat forums,
etc. In addition each individual project group can decide which information
should be available to the general public and which information should be for
project group members only. This system ensures effective intracommunication in
the project groups and makes it possible to communicate with other residents in
the area.
Dialogue
activities
Opinions about the area both from residents who are active in the regeneration
work and other residents are collected and disseminated by the project. Written
opinions are linked with pictures that can be activated on a map. The results of
a photo safari for children can now be seen on the Internet. On a
map of the area people can click on a number of pictures to see the children’s
comments. A special accessibility safari for wheelchair users has
also been organised, and the results can likewise be seen on the Internet. The
purpose of these activities is to identify good and bad solutions in the area as
seen from the point of view of specific groups of residents, and to establish
why they are good or bad. This method is going to be applied in relation to
other groups of residents as well and with other focus areas.
In addition to the services offered by the research project via the website [[vii]] numerous other IT-related activities are available in the area.
Information technology plays an important role in relation to the regeneration of Nørrebro Park [[viii]]. There is of course a special website for the regeneration project where plans, proposals, minutes and news are presented. A newspaper called PåGaden (In the Street) [[ix]] is publicised both in a printed version and a digital Internet version. A person with IT qualifications has been employed and an INFO-theque will be established. The purpose of the latter is to give local businesses and others easy access to new technologies – and to training, advice and guidance.
Other initiatives have been taken outside the framework of the regeneration project. A website [[x]] has been established for the entire Nørrebro area. This website contains news and information about the area, including the regeneration project. Several housing associations are already using information technology for websites and internal communication. Some housing associations are very active in establishing a broadband network in the area. In connection with the regeneration project a special working group has been established to deal with this initiative. Finally some residents who have been active in the regeneration project working groups have established their own groupware-based selective network, which is to be used for debate and surveys about themes they find relevant.
Local
community in the network society
It is too early to draw any conclusions in relation to the project. An overall
evaluation must be made first, though we already see some tendencies now.
In the Nørrebro Park regeneration project the network society is not only an abstract concept. The project is in fact showing others how IT tools can be used with good results in local communities.
We originally thought that new technology would divide the population into an A-group and a B-group, but even now it is evident that there is a great potential for increasing involvement. This is first and foremost true of those who participate actively, but there is also a broad effect in that information technology makes it easier for many people to follow developments. The introduction of IT is not possible without clashes with conventional power structures that seek to curb digital dissemination of information. This may be one of the reasons why the introduction of IT has been slower than originally expected.
The urban regeneration project seeks to handle a number of relatively complex issues that call for combination, coordination and incorporation of social, architectural, historical, financial, managerial and private aspects. Ease of overview is crucial. IT may contribute to ensuring such overview.
It seems that IT in itself is not a lever for an area’s transition into a network society, but IT is a precondition for such a transition, ie IT is the fundamental basis for ensuring that the area’s financial, social, political and cultural life will influence the development of the network society.
[i]MODINET is one of a few projects funded by the Major Interdisciplinary Research Projects Fund . MODINET (Media and Democracy in the Network Society) is headed by Professor Ib Bondebjerg of the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen: www.modinet.dk
[ii] The research project is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (now the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs). The research is conducted by a team composed of architects Bjarne Rüdiger and Bruno Tournay from the School of Architecture of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and architect Steen Holmgren and sociologist Kresten Storgaard of Danish Building and Urban Research.
[iii] Rüdiger, B and Tournay, B, 1997 and 2001: www.3dcitymodel.dk
[iv] Holmgren, S and Svensson, O, 1999: Byarkitektur i byfornyelsen, i dialog mellem fagfolk og beboere (Urban architecture in urban regeneration – dialogue between professionals and residents). Danish Building and Urban Research and the Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 1999
[v] Storgaard, K et al., 1997: Bornholm på Nettet. (Bornholm on the Internet), Danish Building and Urban Research, Institute of Local Government Studies (AKF) and the Bornholm Research Centre.
[vi] Storgaard, K., 1998: Dialogue between Research and Development. In Hetland, P. and H-P. Meyer-Dallach, Making the Global Village local? Domesticating the World Wide Webs of information and communication technology. European Commission.