CAD

Digital Cities and Spatial Data Infrastructure

A relative of mine and I were talking last night about digital architecture, urban planning, spatial data infrastructure (SDI) and related topics. He comes from a architecture and sustainable design background. As the discussion moved toward SDI and digital cities, it veered a little to the traditional arguments between economics and environment.

He said, "the environment has basically called the economy's bluff." As if the two have been in a wild poker game in a dimly lit room all this time.

He describes an architectural environment where he uses his iPhone to show drawings now. I inquired, "what would you do without the iPhone?" He sort of scratched his head and looked at me, contemplated the questions a long while and replied, "I don't know."

Here is a guy, as far as I can tell, who is linked digitally into the planning processes of a city, collaborates about design with his colleagues and clients, carries presentations and data and generally is oriented to digital architecture and communicating with people using digital devices.

As I explained SDI and gave a few examples of SDI projects that I know of, it because clearer to me that he see's digital architecture and urban planning as a much more fluid, dynamic and social process than geospatial people assess it. In his words, "each project is unique." There is no grandiose vision of mass built housing all interacting with digital data. Instead, urban planning evolves through political consequence, budgets, environmental factors and the beauty of design.

When we speak about SDI and digital cities we need to be aware of the social and human contexts. Technology only goes so far and as my relative said, "design is for the people, not technology efficiency alone."

The concept of SDI and digital cities being slightly different from place to place is realistic. It embodies cultural differences, budgets, awareness, internet availability, data access and a host of other factors. The digital of a city is like the pencil to a drawing or map.

As I reviewed the book Rethinking Maps, I noticed that the authors continually mentioned, there is no one right way - only many possible routes and ways to make the journey. Perhaps it is the same for SDI and Digital Cities, that they too are journeys whose destinations we do not quite understand fully.

Related Posts

1. How Can Digital Cities and Spatial Data Infrastructure Connect?
2. Regional / National Spatial Strategy: Reflections for Digital Cities
3. European Spatial Data Infrastructure Network
4. Geospatial: Is Spatial Data Infrastructure a Technology or Activity?
5. Can Non-Government Spatial Data Infrastructure Exist?
6. Maslow’s Theory and Spatial Data Infrastructure
7. Independent and Distributed Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)
8. SDI — Canadian Spatial Data Infrastructure 2005 – 2009
9. Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI)
10. “Does business have a role in Global Spatial Data Infrastructure and what is it?”

© 2009 Vector One.