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Digital Frontiers: Reshaping landscape through data
The Digital Frontiers project at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) is pioneering a new approach to urban spaces, where the physical and digital realms converge.
The Digital Frontiers project is an innovative data ecosystem aiming to transform how we understand, manage and design urban landscapes.
Run jointly with SHIFT (a catalyst for east London’s innovators, bringing together business, academia, government and local communities) and University College London’s Connected Environments Lab, the project aims to offer new and emerging opportunities through access to and understanding of data relating to the physical landscape. Real-time data streams from across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park are being made openly accessible to provide insights into the hidden life of the park that were previously unattainable. For example, urban heat island effects can be mapped in detail, allowing for targeted interventions in landscape design.
Biodiversity monitoring, from butterflies through to the real-time tracking of bats from audio sensors enables a deeper understanding of how landscape elements impact local ecosystems. Park usage patterns, captured through Wi-Fi and mobile data, inform more responsive design decisions and water usage. Data from buildings and waterways supports more sustainable water management strategies in landscape design. Above all, the system opens up data to all stakeholders, to share, view and analyse data from the park.
The technological backbone of this system is based around both Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and Long Range Wide Area Networks (LoRaWAN), creating a mesh of data collection points throughout the park. This data and network feed is being utilised to create a bottom-up digital twin of the park to support collaboration and virtual experimentation with landscape modifications before physical implementation. Not only does this enable visual insight into proposed landscape interventions, but via simulation techniques, also the ongoing impacts of both design and policy choices.
These emerging technologies are aimed at enabling landscape architects and urban planners to move beyond static, point-in-time analyses to dynamic, responsive approaches. The integration of diverse data streams – from air quality to energy usage – provides a holistic view of the urban ecosystem, informing more comprehensive and sustainable design strategies.
The implications of this approach extend far beyond QEOP. The open-source model for real-time data has the potential to scale to city-wide or even national implementation, transforming evidence-based policymaking for urban environments. Landscape architects could play a crucial role in interpreting and applying this wealth of data to create more resilient, sustainable and user-friendly urban spaces.
Andrew Hudson-Smith is Professor of Digital Urban Systems and Duncan Wilson is Professor of Connected Environments at The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. See the full report at shiftlondon.co.uk/shift-announces-digital-frontiers-roadmap/
