Urban Radar by iaac0

MASTER IN CITY AND TECHNOLOGY Design with Fluxes 2017|2018

URBAN RADAR

URBAN RADAR Master in City and Technology 2017 | 2018 Research Studio: Designing with Fluxes

Faculty: Federico Parolotto Kathrin DiPaola Francesca Arcuri Sebastiano Scacchetti Julius Streifeneder Alex Mademochoritis Students: Camille Feghali Saule Gabriele Venessa Williams

CONTENTS Abstract 07 Introduction 09 Shanghai 10 Analysis 17 Red Town 18 Case Study 24 Urban Radar Strategy App Interface User Experience Stake Holders Physical Interface

29 30 34 36 40 42

Scalability 45 Future Scenarios 46 Conclusion 57 References 61

ABSTRACT Today cities grow and change so fast that we, citizens, tend to lose connection with this transition especially in our immediate environments - our neighbourhoods. Urban Radar is a project that seeks to reconnect citizens with their local environment by activating programmes and influencing physical space through the most primary mean of mobility - walking. Set in downtown Shanghai, China, the research challenges the current process of urban evolution in such megacities, putting the citizen at the centre.

INTRODUCTION

SHANGHAI Ranked as the largest city in the world, Shanghai boasts a population of more than 24 million people as of its last census in 2017. Its development began after the Opium War of 1840 when China was forced to open its doors to foreign trade. The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic prowess has evolved from agriculture and industry to trade and investment, increasing its role in finance and banking, becoming a major destination for corporate headquarters and a major lure to the highly educated portion of Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workforce. WIth increasing population rise, Shanghai plans for decentralization and polycentric spatial restructuring in order to alleviate the urban sprawl.

citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-population-125.html,2018 march

In terms of connection and mobility through the city, Shanghai has the world’s largest rapid transit system by route length of 644 kilometres. It is the second largest by the number of stations with 393 stations on 16 lines. Its highways are just as abundant, ensuring ease of movement throughout the city. This is especially necessary as a result of the city‘s monocentric nature, where the distance between amenities and functions seems to be ever increasing. Such functions are found to be mixed at the city centre today, while other districts have mostly single functions. Taking a closer look at such areas, the dynamic of the city seems to take on a different turn. Reports from a study at Tongji university shows that the speed of development in Shanghai has rubbed its residents of a collective memory of the places they inhabit, work and play. “The city grows too fast for us to keep up with“. What effects can this possibly have on their experience of the city? An example of neighbourhoods highly affected by the city‘s speed of change is RedTown, located in downtown Shanghai in Hongqiao. In 2017, it was demolished to be redeveloped for the fourth time in the last 70 years, this time into a commercial complex. The site was formerly an art gallery, consisting of parks, cafes, restaurants,

Mobility for All_Dr. Haixiao PAN Professor Department of Urban Planning Tongji University, Shanghai, China

https://www.thechairmansbao.com/my-shanghai-a-city-of-changes/; â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Metabolizing City- Developing Inwardâ&#x20AC;?, paper by Chu Wanru, School of Architecture and Society

museums and a concert hall. First opened in 2005, the site was formerly made up of abandoned factory buildings from the industrial era. As one of the many locations in the city that were refurbished by the government as a way of preserving historical artifacts and art pieces, Red Town became popular mostly amongst tourists and visitors. Comments from TripAdvisor show that one of the main reasons why it became such an attraction was that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as crowded as other parts of the city and so became a great place for recreation and to withdraw from the busy city.

However, it appears that business owners and developers had a different perspective of the area. In terms of profits, the level of use and function of the space was not lucrative enough in the long run, and hence the need for a more yielding venture such as a commercial complex. In a residential district in downtown Shanghai, what is the assurance that a commercial center would indeed be successful? Was the low stream of people a response to the function of the establishment? Or does it have more to do with the neighborhood in which it was located? This research ponders on what makes for active neighbourhoods, using Red Town, and its surrounding neighborhood as a reference. By examining the themes of activity in terms of program, and connection within neighborhoods, this project seeks to explore how neighborhoods can become more active by enhancing connection and programs within them.

ANALYSIS

RED TOWN The types of activities found in a neighborhood give it character and could also make or break its sense of place. In the most livable areas, the public space forms the central part of the community, fostering a sense of belonging, engagement, and responsibility in the people. Activities in communities refer to the different functions available in the area. The more diverse the activities, the more livable the place. The level of flexibility of programmes adds to the dynamism of places, leading to more responsive, and friendly urban environments. The relative ease of moving within a neighborhood signifies its level of connection. The more connected places are, the fewer barriers exist between them- such as fences, road, highways, street design- and the easier it is to get there. Walkability is often used to measure this ease, as it is the primary mode of mobility. Therefore the more walkable a neighborhood is, the better connected it is. In citywide and regional distances, connectivity can also be measured by its universal accessibility, i.e. use of other sustainable transportation modes, including walking, cycling, public transit, paratransit, and taxi.

Connection of activities to Red Town

Physical analysis of Red Town

In order to assess the Red Town neighborhood as one that is active or not, it was analyzed based on available function and connectivity. A 3km radius was created around the site forming the extent of further examination. This distance was chosen from studies that had shown that the extent of an average personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desired walking distance was 3km, which is equivalent to approximately 30 minutes. For the purpose of the research, this distance and time span are regarded as the neighborhood. Using geospatial algorithms, line connections were made from the site to different activities in the area range. The functions include entertainment, greenery, health, education and transportation and are based on available data. From this, a higher level of connection from Red Town towards the city center (located northeast on the map) was identified, and less connection towards the residential areas (located southwest on the map). The same radius was used to carry out a physical analysis of Red town and its surrounding area. From observation, various barriers to walking are identified such as fences, poor pedestrian infrastructure sure as very narrow or non-existent sidewalks, highways and traffic. In addition, studies from Strava heatmap shows that the most used streets for walking and running around Red Town are the major highways adjacent to it. This is most likely due to the available pedestrian infrastructure located there. 21

Baidu maps

Although walking accounts for about 26% of the mobility modal share in Shanghai, examining the city on a smaller scale shows that walking might not be at its optimal level in the city. The case for walking and walkability in cities is one that has grown exponentially in the last decades as we emerge from the age of the car to more people-centered cities. Sustaining walking in cities experiencing increasing urban sprawl has been a major challenge for most megacities. With functions in urban areas getting farther and farther apart, how can walkability be encouraged, and what impact could this have on the city in the long run, both on the regional and neighborhood scales?

CASE STUDIES Walkability is becoming increasingly important in city planning and administration as its benefits range from social, political, environmental to economic. Walk Memphis was a pedestrian perception model project developed in Memphis Tennesse. It aimed at identifying walking challenges in the city, specifically for older citizens, through analysis and surveys, in order to understand how people made decisions to walk or not. Companies like State of Place help evaluate cities and neighborhoods based on available features in the built environment. They calculate an areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quality of place or State of Place Index a score from 0 to 100, indicating how walkable convenient, safe, dynamic and livable - a block, group of blocks or neighborhood is. By highlighting the economic differences in real estate, between more walkable areas and neighborhoods with low-

https://www.slideshare.net/marielaalfonzo/walkability-health-in-china ; http://walkmemphis.org/pages/Introduction.html ; https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/wow

er indexes, they help enhance economic competition between neighborhoods to become more walkable, active and livable. Image of the State of Place Index showing two neighborhoods in China and their different economic values. How could one simple decision daily, lead to great impacts in the environment? The WOW project by Living Streets aims at developing healthy lifelong habits in kids and reduce congestion at the school gates. By incentivizing pupils to walk to school, they recorded reduced pollution and congestion.

URBAN RADAR

STRATEGY Today, technology has become an almost indispensable means of experiencing our cities and neighbourhoods. the use of navigation apps such as Google Maps has changed the way we discover and remember places, and equip us with information about where we are, where we would like to go, how to get there, and the places in between.

and local businesses as activity generators, Urban Radar is a powerful tool to reactivate our neighborhoods. It also aids in empowering citizens to identify physical gaps in public space, which helps local administration create faster and better solutions.

What if these technologies could reposition the user? What if they upheld connectivity, programme, data and public space, towards more active neighborhoods?

Bringing the user to the center of the system changes the relationship with the neighborhood. It recognizes the user as an important participant in the outcome of the urban environment, allowing them to decide the extent of their personal neighborhood.

Urban radar is a system which helps to reconnect citizens with their neighborhoods. Based on the citizen in the center, walkability as the main form of connection,

The means of connection within the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s radar is centered around walking, and other forms of sustainable transportation become plugins based on this primary form of mobility.

Local businesses are also included in the system as they are encouraged to become initiators of activity in the neighborhoods. This impacts the economic value of the area, as well as fosters the growth of more businesses and activities. Data is a major component of Urban Radar, as most of the interaction with the user results from feedback, open data, and getting in tune with the specific user through micro-targeting. The public space provides a place for the physical manifestation of the system. Streets, parks, urban furniture and public infrastructure all become key elements in experiencing the city and interacting with the system, where the digital and physical meet.

urban

radar

APP INTERFACE Experiencing the system through an application is the first stage of the process. The application consists of 4(four) key players and parts: data-in, user, local businesses, and public administration. Data is fed into the system from existing social and location intelligence platforms. The users, which consist of individuals and local businesses create the dynamics of supply and demand of programmes. The data that they create is collected by the public administration for the purpose of bringing about physical interventions or policies according to specific needs identified.

URBAN RADAR

USER EXPERIENCE The user decides on a favorable radius, to which extent they are comfortable walking, calculated by time. This area becomes their new personalized neighborhood and they get to experience the system and the city within this boundary. Based on interests and likes, the user also has the option to choose from a variety of programs or themes which then forms a filter on the information received regarding oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s radar. The elements vary in different themes of transportation, places, services, events and social. Similar to navigation apps, users can get routed to places or activities of their choice, however on Urban Radar, this route is for walking. Users get multiple route options based on interests and data processed by the application. Users also have the option for multiple destinations.

Urban Radar keeps the user constantly updated with their neighborhood through live updates and newsfeed on whats happening around them based on their interests. The app takes advantage of existing social platforms and connects users with friends and family for more seamless transitions and interactions. This aspect of the tool aims at building community and connect with those in close physical proximity. As a means of empowering users and the role they play in the urban environment, users are able to create events in the system as well as update the system with current situations in the physical space. This witness feature would allow for users to report hinderances they face while walking.

STAKEHOLDERS Local businesses are incentivized to advert using this platform in order to target potential customers according to chosen filtered interests. The government plays the role of regulator observing the dynamics in the different areas and facilitating change based on demand and supply. Through Urban Radar, they are better equipped to provide more focused, user-specific solutions and planning decisions.

Through the use of artificial intelligence and internet of things, could the system eliminate public administration and even business owners, and respond directly to physical and activity demands of the people?

PHYSICAL INTERFACE Public space physically adapting to your needs, transport infrastructure adapting to the flow of people as Urban Radar becomes the intelligence of your neighborhood. The project scales up as Urban Radar becomes a part of the physical space through future technologies and ephemeral architecture to create dynamic physical spaces that cater o the changing needs of the people. Hence a proposal for a public space transformation matrix based on factors that affect walkability, such as weather, activities, infrastructure, and transport. Each element conjures different responses in the public space based on its state. What possibilities exist for such dynamic neighborhoods? What is the impact on the people and their experience of the public space? 42

SCALABILITY

FUTURE SCENARIOS

What if...Urban Radar had screen interfaces in the public space that extended its boundaries to wider, regional distances, so people could be kept abreast on more large-scale occurrences in their cities? What if...pollution and weather restrictions became a thing of the past as the system provided the infrastructure that could preserve and protect public spaces at optimum levels? What if...activities and events became more flexible and feasible to organize in public space, with Urban Radar helping out with public updates and space transformation? What if...the public spaces could change in size depending on the number of users, optimizing space use and reducing waste of resources?

What if...pedestrian infrastructure and urban furniture could adapt to different usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs? What if...Urban Radar rerouted traffic based on activities and events in the public space?

Could walkability be a means of activating neighborhoods? Does technology create a platform to incorporate multiple elements in the urban environment in order to enhance connectivity and functions in the neighborhood? What impact could this system have on Red Town? Would its dynamic nature alter the general pace of evolution in neighborhoods? How would this, in turn, affect the peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perception of their environment?

URBAN RADAR 2.0: WEATHER AND ACTIVITIES

URBAN RADAR 2.0: TRAFFIC AND SURFACE

URBAN RADAR 2.0: BRINGING THE CITY TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

CONCLUSION

With Shanghai being the most populated city in the world, its approach to the urban environment would influence other and future cities. Inactive neighborhoods are quite common in fast-growing cities due to the tendency for places to be easily overtaken by rapid growth and development. At the core of re-activating places lies the resolve for the user or the citizen to become an active participant in the metamorphosis of cities. Walking then becomes a symbol of citizen empowerment, with the one who walks having control over where to go, how, and when. According to urban design studies, factors that affect walkability include density, aesthetics, traffic safety, connectivity, public space, form, pedestrian amenities and proximity. Urban Radar specializes in connectivity and activities as catalysts for enhancing the other factors. The walkability of neighborhoods is then a means to an end; activated places. Although redevelopment plans for Red Town would go on as planned, this project challenges the effect of rapid development in regards to neighborhoods. It seeks to activate neighborhoods from within, by also fostering its livability.

REFERENCES

Aiello, Luca Maria et al. 2014. The Shortest Path to Happiness: Recommending Beautiful, Quiet, and Happy Routes in the City Arup. 2016. Cities Alive: Towards a Walking World https://www.arup.com/publications/research/section/citiesalive-towards-a-walking-world Certeau, de Michel. 1980. The Practice of Everyday Life Debord, Guy. 1967. The Society of the Spectacle Fang, Zhixiang et al. 2016. What about people in pedestrian navigation? https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10095020.20 15.1126071 Global Designing Cities Initiative. 2016. Global Street Design Guide. Jaffe, Eric. 2012. How Our Brains Navigate the City https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2012/01/how-dowe-find-our-way-around-city/967/ Li, Wei. 2015. Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pedestrianization: Reviving a Tradition of Walking for Healthier Cities http://thecityfix.com/blog/chinas-pedestrianization-reviving-a-tradition-of-walking-for-healthier-cities/ http://www.designforwalkability.com/

Matthews , Jan D. 2016. An introduction to the situationists https://libcom.org/library/introduction-situationists-jan-d-matthews Nold, Christian. 2009. Emotional Cartography - Technologies of the Self http://emotionalcartography.net/ Speck, Jeff. 2012. Ten elements of walkability http://walkmemphis.org/images/Speck.pdf Spencer, Jonathan A. The Univeristy of Memphis.City and Regional Planning 2015 http://walkmemphis.org/ State of place. 2017. Top ten urban design dimensions for walkability. http://www.stateofplace.co/state-of-place-profile Transportation Research Board December. 2010 Urban Street Segments Page 17-45. Walker, Alissa. 2013. Pedestrian Power to shape future cities http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131018-walk-to-worktransform-your-city Hostetler, Terry R. and Kearney, Joseph K. 2002. Strolling Down the Avenue with a Few Close Friends http://homepage.cs.uiowa.edu/~kearney/pubs/EurographicsWorkshop02.pdf 63