Co-creating the digital city

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Illustration : Co-creating the digital city

21 December 2011

Some 75 percent of French people consider that digital sciences have made useful contributions to the transportation sector; however, one in three do not consider that digital technology is useful for the environment, agriculture or art. Those are the findings of a barometric survey presented by the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA) at the Metro’num forum, held in Bordeaux on December 8 and 9, 2011, on the theme, “Co-creating the digital city.”

The primary objective of this first survey, the conclusions of which are available on the INRIA’s website, was to assess French people’s understanding of the digital world in which they live. The survey’s results demonstrate a need for education: 53 percent of French people feel “slightly overwhelmed” by digital technologies. Yet these new technologies also arouse enthusiasm: 39 percent of the French say they are passionate about the subject.

New tools for public consultation and citizen participation were a core focus of the gathering’s debates. Loïc Hay, representing the Agence Régionale des Technologies et de la Société de l’Information (ARTESI) Ile-de-France, emphasized that current forms of citizen participation are becoming exhausted, afflicted by what he calls the “always-the-same-people” syndrome. In his view, public consultation must make use of both physical and dematerialized techniques. He provided the example of “augmented visits,” which consist in physically going to the site of an urban project and exploring it using a digital tablet that provides a 3D view of what the site will look like in the future. Web platforms dedicated to collaboration are also a new tool that citizens can use; for example, the Urban Community of Bordeaux has created www.participation.lacub.fr, a web portal that allows citizens to give their opinions on 66 urban projects. However, Jean de Legge, general manager of information and communications for Rennes Métropole, notes that we should not over-estimate the role of social networks in the citizen participation process: in the blogosphere, there are still few debates on city planning and urban development projects.
Today, the digital world provides the means to better deal with some major challenges: smart grids can be developed to optimize energy consumption in cities; 3D imaging can be used for urban planning; and new means of communications can serve to enhance territorial equity. Will digital services revolutionize the cities of tomorrow? According to the INRIA survey, 37 percent of French people are not sure if they should fear developments in the digital world or view them as opportunities. The revolution will not happen without them: that’s why it is crucial for the issue of practices to be placed at the heart of digital city development — as advocated by The City Factory, a partner of Metro’num.

related themes :

Transportation infrastructure

Zero impact

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