APRES COUP U-City: ambient computing cities
With Adam Greenfield’s book Every[ware] as a starting point, Valérie Chatelet has invited Daniel Kaplan and Christian Tarpin to examine the ideas and the issues raised by ubimedia in the evolution of cities.
While the « u » in ubiquity has been added to the « e » and the « i » in the list of prefixes referring to the latest trends in products and services, the implications of ubiquitous computing present both opportunities and risks. The future they prefigure involves the development of machine-to-machine communication, the infiltration and reconfiguration of our environments by technologies, and the appearance of new threats to personal choices and individual liberties, but also to well-being.
BIOGRAPHIES
State certified architect Valérie Chatelet (MDess, Harvard) combines her practice with research and teaching focusing on the impact of digital technologies on the architectural and urban projects. She is the editor of Interactive Cities (HYX), an inventory of uses and discourses accompanying the growth of digital tools in the transformation of contemporary cities.
Daniel Kaplan is the chief representative of the Fondation pour l’Internet Nouvelle Génération (FING), a collective, open project whose objective is to identify, spur, and showcase innovation in the services and uses of digital technologies and networks. Since the 1990s Daniel Kaplan has been deeply involved in the development of the Internet in France and worldwide. Globally, he was responsible for the membership of the Internet Society and contributed to the creation of the ICANN. In Europe, he served as a member of the Chamber of experts in the e-Europe program. In France, he has advised large companies, administrations, and local governments on their digital strategies. Daniel Kaplan is the author or co-editor of 15 books and public reports on topics such as the Internet, mobility, omnipresent technologies, e-learning, electronic commerce, electronic media, access to digital technologies, and cities of the future.
Since 1987 Christian Tarpin has been involved in the domain of « intelligent transportation. » As the Operations Development Manager for Setec ITS, he works on issues related to roads, freight, public transportation, traveler information and co-modality. He is in charge of questions at the forefront of innovation, such as highway accessibility for individuals with reduced mobility or multimodal information – that relative to parking (the Parkinfo system), among other examples. Tarpin also designed the information system for the Paris beltway (the « périphérique ») and the Ecotax on trucks. He leads a think-tank on the mobility of individuals and goods in the greater Paris area in the future on behalf of a collective of economic players.
