Adam Greenfield
Elements of a Networked Urbanism
Even though, according to the statistics of the UN Population Division, the final shift only happened at the end of 2008, it is already a cliche to note that humanity is now predominantly an urban species. We think we understand what this means, but the truth is that cities themselves are changing: the urban fabric, in the developed and developing world both, is increasingly being reimagined as a field of interactive, networked information-gathering, -processing, -storage and -display resources.
What happens to urban form and metropolitan experience under such circumstances? What are some key implications for us, as designers, consumers and, most importantly, as citizens?