1.1 Reading
Data dimension: accessing urban data and making it accessible
In the article “Data dimension: accessing urban data and making it accessible,” several approaches to data analysis and collection are looked at and analyzed in regards to accessibility. Most of the time large amounts of data can be extremely overwhelming. It is becoming increasingly more important for us as designers to condense this information and package it in ways that are accessible to ourselves and to the public. This article points to the ‘big data approach’ as the cause of this. This approach is where large amounts of data are collected and looked at in order to identify and predict statistically significant patterns. We as humans need to stop relying on algorithms to point out the patterns for us and instead look at socio-cultural ways in which we interpret information. Having concrete effective data will help us as designers understand space better, and design with more solutions in mind. At the end of the article is addresses several ways in which humans could collect data on a city such as how we sense the city, how we collect information about it, how hidden patterns can be recognized through investigation, and how temporal processes (i.e. the recognized patterns) be made available to a given observer. Through this personal data collection, cities and spaces could be understood at a more human scale, and this information can be presented in a more accessible and understandable manner.
SOCIAL “CODING:” URBAN PROCESSES AND SOCIO-COMPUTATIONAL WORKFLOW
The article “Social “Coding”: Urban Processes And Socio-computational workflow” addresses how the urban environment can be understood as a system of parts that come together in order to create a whole. It looks at how data collection methods can give us a greater understanding of the ways in which we analyze and reflect on this system and ourselves. People interact with the built environment in a multitude of ways so it is crucial to collect accurate and thorough data that reflects this intense variation. This article gives several examples of data collection in portland in regards to food trucks. Whether it is through interviews, on-site-surveys, or computational collections this data helped to further indirect, direct, and real-time design integration. In an interesting quote in the article by Mark Wieser’s he predicts “that computers and computation will become less and less visible, and more integrated into a complex web of relationships between people, space and behaviors.” The interconnectedness of people, space, and action is extremely interconnected so it is our job as designers to understand its many facets and use computers and computation to our advantage to organize it.
FOOD, TIME, AND SPACE: MOBILE CUISINE IN NEW YORK AND PORTLAND
In the article “Food, Time, and Space” they analyze how mobile cruise is conducted all over the world. They look at some of the differences between food trucks in New York and in Portland, allowing a greater understanding of regulations, business, and how the food truck industry is becoming its own urban element. They also look at the difference between food trucks and food carts in order to better understand how supplies, parking, and sales come into play. Having lived in Portland for most of my life, and attending high school near the food truck hubs, I have seen first hand the growing empire. It is interesting to see the culture that is created through such immediate cuisine, along with the variety of social groups that utilize them as a resource.