interactivity, digital displays, urban screens, public sphere, urban space, interactive facades, local culture, social sustainability, neighbourhood reactivation, urban communication www.urbanscreens.org investigates how the currently dominating commercial use of outdoor screens can be broadened with cultural content contributing to a lively urban society. Interactivity and participation will bind the screens more to the communal context of the space and therefore create local identity and engagement. The integration of current information technologies support the development of a new digital layer of the city in a merge of material and immaterial space redefining the function of this growing infrastructure.
Abstract www.urbanscreens.org investigates how the currently dominating commercial use of outdoor screens can be broadened with cultural content contributing to a lively urban society. Interactivity and participation will bind the screens more to the communal context of the space and therefore create local identity and engagement. The integration of current information technologies support the development of a new digital layer of the city in a merge of material and immaterial space redefining the function of this growing infrastructure. We are not far from technology that makes it possible to cover buildings with large flexile planes of moving images, networked and controlled from one central location but making use of site specific collected consumer data. New balanced alliances are needed that challenge city authorities and regulators, architects, advertisers and broadcasters as well as cultural curators, artists and the citizen as producer to shape the future development of the developing "screens world" in a sustainable manner. Urban Screens can be understood within the context of the rediscovery of the public sphere and the urbane character of cities, based on a well-balanced mix of functions and the idea of the inhabitant as active citizen. New interactive technologies and networked media give easier access to the visual streaming of these digital surfaces. Through the development of the Internet, digital content has become fluent, in theory anytime, anywhere available and worldwide produced for the audience of the new global village. The connection with the locality of the static nature of the new screening infrastructure characterises urban Screens and asks for more site specific content. In contrast to the mobile personal screens integrated in phones, PDAs, laptops etc. displaying content for an individual, the nature of Urban Screens lies on the focus on the urban audience, on joint and widespread reception of media content. Yet the growing embedding in screen systems, the accessibility via Internet, mobile devices, etc. augments the 'situatedness' in a particular urban space. Levels of locality and globality vary, and range from the local neighbourhood screens, via symbols and sings on a city level to trans-urban Networks of screens enabling new 'glocal' interconnectivity. URLS:
http://www.urbanscreens.org http://www.interactionfield.de |
