Urban play : make-believe, technology, and space

Auteur(s) :

Duarte, Fábio (1970-....) Découvrir l'auteur

Résumé

Digital technology and forensic analysis of play can ruin its spontaneity. However, in Urban Play, Duarte and Álvarez, both associated with the MIT Senseable City Lab, argue that “technology is powerful not when it becomes optimally functional but when it is essentially playful—when imagining and tinkering with technology equals imagining and tinkering with possible futures" (p. xi). In the book's introduction and seven chapters, the authors present technology and the transformation of spatial design by examining serendipity, fantasies (e.g., Frank Gehry’s architecture), spatialities (e.g., digital water parks), deception (e.g., optical illusions), and empathy (e.g., that enabled by virtual reality headsets), to name a few. In numerous ways, all can shape urban environments. The authors also mention projects such as Playable City’s project Shadowing: when a “streetlight detects a pedestrian it not only lights up but also projects … shadows of other people who passed the streetlight earlier," thus promoting instant play. These concepts are largely in-depth discussions of what many people are already aware of, but it is good to be reminded of the value play can bring to life and locations. This playful book joins such works as Cathy Baldwin and Robin King's Social Sustainability, Climate Resilience and Community-Based Urban Development: What about the People?