Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to explore translucence and the ambient as dimensions of urban visibilities and invisibilities in the context of emergent perspectives on smart cities to enrich understandings. The research literature for translucence and the ambient is explored in terms of urban visibilities and invisibilities in smart cities and regions, enabling the formulation and operationalization of a conceptual framework to guide the investigation in this chapter. Using an exploratory case study approach, combined with an explanatory correlational design, survey and interview responses provide a mix of quantitative and qualitative data for analysis. This chapter makes a contribution to 1) the research literature for translucence and the ambient in smart cities and regions, 2) the surfacing of additional urban elements for understanding 21st century cities, and 3) the evolving of theory through formulation of a conceptual framework for translucence and the ambient in smart cities.
Top1. Introduction
Where Gil-Garcia, Gasco-Hernandez, and Pardo (2020) point to the possible need for looking “beyond transparency, participation, and collaboration”, this chapter is motivated to consider additional dimensions of visibilities and invisibilities in smart cities through an exploration of translucence and the ambient in a variety of ways and spaces. From an interdisciplinary perspective, translucence is explored in this chapter from the social (Erickson and Kellogg, 2000) to learning (Prestigiacomo, Hadgraft, Hunter, and Locker, 2020) to interfaces (Cataldo and Herbsleb, 2010) to materials in urban spaces and regions such as wood (Boitouzet, 2017), concrete (Dutta, Reecti, and Mandal, 2018), glass (Stein, Draper, and Hellyer, 2019), and UltraSurfaces (Ferrara and Pasetti, 2020). Regarding the ambient, Streitz, Charitos, Kaptein, and Böhlen (2019) describe ambient intelligence (AmI) as supportive of the humane and social in smart environments where people and their smartness is enabled with “an approach that moves beyond ‘smart-only’ environments” in “redefining the ‘smart-everything’ paradigm.” Guiding this investigation is the use of an exploratory case study along with an explanatory correlational design where data are collected through the use of multiple methods including survey and in-depth interviews. In parallel with this study, data are also systematically gathered through individual and group discussions. This chapter is significant in that it explores the nature of the relationship between translucence and the ambient using the proxies of visible infrastructures and awareness, respectively. This chapter makes a contribution through a) extending the research literature for invisibilities and visibilities in smart cities to include translucence and the ambient; b) the evolving of perspectives on smart cities and regions; and c) formulation of a conceptual framework for translucence and the ambient in smart cities. As such, the objective of this work is described below.
Objective: The objective of this chapter is to explore and advance emergent understandings of translucence and the ambient in smart cities and regions. The key research question posed is – What is the nature of the relationship between translucence and the ambient in smart cities and regions, as dimensions of urban visibilities and invisibilities?
Top2. Background And Overview
This chapter addresses the physical/material, the social, and other emergent forms of translucence in the context of smart cities and regions. For example, Erickson and Kellogg (2000) articulated the notion of social translucence in systems design in support of the social dimension of processes. Erickson and Kellogg (2000) explain that they “speak of socially translucent systems rather than socially transparent systems” due to the “vital tension between privacy and visibility.” Additionally, Erickson and Kellogg (2000) claim that, “translucence stands in more generally for the power of constraints” and it is worth noting that smart cities are constrained in many ways, not least of which is that of financial constraints (Nisenbaum, 2019). In response to concerns with the environment, Boitouzet (2017) articulates the notion of “translucent wood” as a low-carbon option for cities of the future while Dutta, Reecti, and Mandal (2018) describe the idea of translucent concrete.
2.1 Definitions
Definitions are presented here, based on the research literature, for key terms used in this chapter. Additional terms with definitions, as articulated by this work, are included in the Key Terms and Definitions section at the end of this chapter.
Ambient: Streitz, Charitos, Kaptein, and Böhlen (2019) claim that the ambient, in the context of ambient intelligence (AmI), “was proposed to contrast” developments that were “technology-driven” by “paying attention to user-centered design, social interfaces and the notion of context-aware and adaptive ambient environments.”
Social Translucence: Erickson and Kellogg (2000) describe social translucence from the perspective of “an approach to designing digital systems” as “making social information visible within the system.”
Translucence: In describing conceptualizations of interface translucence, Cataldo and Herbsleb (2010) note that, “the goal is to increase visibility of some particular pieces of information or behaviors while hiding others.”
Key Terms in this Chapter
Ambient Visibilities/Invisibilities: Ambient visibilities/invisibilities refer to urban elements accommodating more aware people and awareness-enabled technologies encompassing the physical, the digital, and the less tangible.
Invisibilities: Invisibilities refer to urban elements that are rendered invisible or that may present as intangibles.
Visible Infrastructures: Visible infrastructures refer to physical and other visible urban elements.
Translucence: Translucence refers to greater ease in seeing through situations, materials, the digital, and the like, in relation to smart cities and regions.
Awareness: Awareness is conceptualized in this work as the quality of being aware as it applies to people on the one hand, to the enabling of technologies on the other, and to the enhancing of awareness through people interacting with awareness-enabled and enabling technologies.
Ambient: In the context of smart cities, the ambient describes the increasing presence of more aware people together with awareness-enabled technologies in support of interactivity, influencing human communication and activities, human-machine interactivities, and machine-machine interactivities and in turn affecting behavior, experience, information capabilities, economies, literacies, and indeed everything.
Smart Cities: Smart cities are urban areas and regions characterized by more aware and engaged people, interacting with each other and aided by the use of more awareness enhancing technologies for a wide range of purposes from communication to design to atmospheres to mobility to livability, to governance, to data generation and use for learning and informed decision-making.