Reviving Public Spaces: The Impact of Digital Placemaking
Reviving Public Spaces: The Impact of Digital Placemaking
Since the global digital boom, social interaction has becoming rapidly digitalised, generating a contemporary society that’s increasingly detached from the traditional uses of urban public spaces. Figures show that over 90% of households now have access to the internet, and at least 87% use smartphones. With conversations occurring over text, news and information fed through screens, goods bought online and delivered to our doorsteps, our digital lives threaten to wipe out our physical experiences of public space and associated sense of place. The sad reality is that ‘social interaction no longer needs the support of public space’ (Badel,. et al, 2021).
But technology doesn’t have to be the downfall of public space. What if the two could work in harmony? People seem to ‘bond faster in cyberspace than in real space’, thus digitalising our approach for designing into urban public places can help to create environments that contemporary humans are familiar with (Badel,. et al, 2021). There is already a promising solution on the horizon that blends technology and human connection with the potential to make our urban landscapes thrive…
Enter ‘digital placemaking’ – A transformative concept that augments physical places with digital elements to provide immersive experiences and foster engagement, to create meaningful destinations for everyone (Morrison, n.d).
How does digital placemaking work?
Digital technology can add a fifth layer to our experience of places. By integrating elements such as interactive digital displays and augmented reality experiences, our attention is drawn to the point at which ‘physical and digital space interconnect’ (Morrison, n.d). This may be fixed digital kiosk or a temporary art installation. You’ll probably have already come across digital technology in public, like digital screens at the bus stop to inform you when the next bus was arriving, QR codes that provide you with information. Digital placemaking enhances our experience in multiple ways, varying from immersing people into their surroundings and increasing community engagement, to improving accessibility and connecting people with nature (Morrison, 2021).
Placemaking Through Digital Art
Leveraging digital technology in creative ways turns people’s attention to the location they are in, helping to foster meaningful experiences, and heightening their sense of place and belonging. (Morrison, n.d).
‘Please Feed the Lions’ – Trafalgar Square, London
Figure 1 – Digital words projected onto the Lion & Nelson’s Column (Please Feed the Lions, 2018)
Figure 2 – Ddigital keyboard for public user input into the lion (Vincent, 2018)
Artist, Es Devlin, designed an installation for the London Design Festival in 2018, adding a fifth lion to Trafalgar Square. This fluorescent lion had an interactive mouth spouting AI generated poetry and projecting it onto Nelson’s Column. The installation encouraged public participation in crafting poetry from people’s own words inputted through a keyboard beside (‘Please feed the Lions’, 2018). Collaborating with tech organisations like Google Arts & Culture, the innovative installation transformed the square into a digitally accessible global exhibition, expanding on the location’s history of art installations while redefining how tradition meets contemporary creativity in public space (Pownall, 2018). Showcasing the potential for intersecting art, technology, and public engagement, this ground-breaking initiative exemplifies the impact of digital placemaking.
Augmented Reality through Smart Devices
Our own smartphones can become instruments in transforming our experience of public places. For example, location-based augmented reality apps, users can explore their physical surroundings in new, interactive ways. The popular gaming app, Pokémon GO, emerging in 2016, leverages augmented reality and real-world locations, making public spaces essential elements of the game. In-game locations are often found at landmarks, encouraging players to explore new places, transforming these into vibrant hubs for social interaction and promoting community engagement (Let’s get digital, 2020). Other apps allow users to change the way they see their immediate surroundings by adding augmented reality layers, such as historic information for tourists. In a town called Cluny, located in Burgundy in France, digital tablets acted as a lens of augmented reality, enabling users to explore the ruins of the Romanesque abbey in its prime, giving the feeling as though you’ve gone back in time rather than simply looking at a photo. (Figure 3) (Radwan,. et al 2018)
Figure 3 – Augmented reality device showcasing what the abbey would have been like (Ray-on, n.d)
The Four Key Elements for Successful Digital Initiatives in Public Places
The future of digital placemaking is promising, giving urban designers the power to transform public place by renewing human connection and engagement. However, there are four interconnecting elements that need to be in play to ensure the success of these urban initiatives – people, place, technology, and data. Understanding the social and cultural context of a place beyond physical aspects, provides human-centric insights to ensure the digital solutions resonate with the user’s needs, fostering authenticity and inclusivity. Another essential component is technological infrastructure, most importantly, access to WiFi in public space. Data dynamics also comes into play when integrating digital technology for public-use. In the EU, compliance with GDPR must be fulfilled to ensure ethical use and protection of users’s information. (Morrison, 2021)
The Future of Digital Placemaking
Digital placemaking is emerging as a transformative force, leveraging technology to enhance our use of public space. By interweaving people, place, technology, and data, we as urban designers, hold the power to rekindle the vibrancy of public places by promoting inclusive, welcoming, and engaging environments. Technology is constantly changing and evolving, and we need to adopt flexible approaches to help bridge that gap between the physical and digital realms by crafting new experiences that strengthen community, culture, and belonging (Morrison, n.d).
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References
Badel, F. & Lopez Baeza, J. (2021), Digital public space for a digital society: a review of public spaces in the digital age. ArtGRID-Journal of Architecture, Engineering & Fine Arts, 3(2), 127-137
(2020) Geek Dad. Available at: https://geekdad.com/2016/07/pokemon-go-the-future-of-augmented-reality/ (Accessed: 08 December 2023).
Let’s get digital: Placemaking and immersive tourism experiences (2020) Destination Think. Available at: https://destinationthink.com/blog/digital-placemaking-immersive-tourism-experiences/ (Accessed: 07 December 2023).
Morrison, J. (2021) Digital Town Centres: Digital Placemaking for people and place, Smart Classes. Available at: https://smartclasses.co/knowledge-base/digital-town-centres-digital-placemaking-for-people-and-place/ (Accessed: 07 December 2023).
Morrison, J. (no date) Digital placemaking is focused on making places better, Calvium. Available at: https://calvium.com/resources/digital-placemaking/ (Accessed: 08 December 2023).
(Author unknown) Please Feed the Lions by Es Devlin (2018) London Design Festival. London. Available at: https://londondesignfestival.com/activities/please-feed-the-lions-by-es-devlin (Accessed: 07 December 2023).
Pownall, A. (2018) ‘Es Devlin to install poetry-spouting lion in London’s Trafalgar Square’, Dezeen, 10 August. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/08/10/trafalgar-square-lion-es-devlin-london-design-festival/ (Accessed: 08 December 2023).
Radwan, Ahmed H. and Morsy, Ahmed Abdel Ghaney. (2018). Smart Urban Public Spaces-Towards a Better City Life. Forthcoming in Proceedings of CPUD ’18 Conference organized by DAKAM (Eastern Mediterranean Academic Research Center). Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3277807
Ray-on, an On-Site Photometric Augmented Reality Device – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-of-the-four-devices-around-and-inside-the-church-of-Cluny_fig7_275483131 [accessed 7 Dec, 2023]
Vincent, J. (2018) ‘You “feed” the lion words using a tablet’, The Verge. London. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/19/17874722/please-feed-the-lions-ai-google-trafalgar-square-es-devlin (Accessed: 06 December 2023).
