NETWORKED PUBLIC SPACE

Networked Public Space (NPS) investigates how "smart" technologies and systems can be humanely integrated into public space.

ABOUT THE NETWORKED PUBLIC SPACE —

Funded by the University of Virginia Strategic Investment Fund, Networked Public Space (NPS) is a collaborative of designers, planners, engineers, social scientists, and community stakeholders. NPS addresses the planning and design of networked public spaces, with a focus on human experience. NPS seeks to facilitate social interaction and human development rather than focus on infrastructural efficiencies. To do so, NPS defines "networked public space" not just as public space with embedded network and sensor technologies, but an interactive network of people, places, and technologies. The collaborative supports social, political, and technical action based on open data and analysis.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS —

Mona El Khafif, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban + Environmental Planning [me9gn@virginia.edu]
Andrew Mondschein, Associate Professor, Urban + Environmental Planning [mondschein@virginia.edu]
Luis Felipe Rosado Murillo, Research Associate

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS AT NPS —

Networked Public Space_Gabriel Gathering_1 — In October 2022, Networked Public Space (NPS) participated in the 20th Annual Gabriel Gathering: Making the Invisible Visible, in Richmond, Virginia. NPS's environmental sensing installation measured air pollution and sound levels on the African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom in real-time, responding to conditions on site with changes in lighting, and also uploading the data for visualization online. These responsive “sculptures” presented ongoing environmental justice issues, and highlighted the history of the African Burial Ground that extends to its conditions today, from the erasure of “urban renewal” and construction of I-95 to ongoing air and noise pollution on the site © NPS

MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

On the evening of Monday October 10, 2022, Networked Public Space participated in the 20th Annual Gabriel Gathering: Making the Invisible Visible, organized by The Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. NPS’s environmental sensing installation, part of this event, measured air pollution and sound levels on the African Burial Ground located in Richmond, VA, in real-time, responding to conditions on site with changes in lighting, and also uploading the data for visualization online. These responsive “sculptures” supported the ongoing environmental justice issues into conversation with the work of Sacred Ground and Recontextualizing Richmond. They highlighted the history of the African Burial Ground that extends to its conditions today, from the erasure of “urban renewal” and construction of I-95 to ongoing air and noise pollution on the site. The work aims to use open-source sensing technologies and community engagement strategies to make urban environmental data more accessible, meaningful, and actionable for communities.

Project Managers: Davis Eddy, Darcy Engle

Project Team: Seshi Konu, Marian Roshdy, Ali Sareini, Cara Hu, Wesley Jonah Lewis, Teagan Le (2020-2021), Pryce Derek Foyt, Gabe Andrade (2019-2020), Brian Kusiak (2020-2021)

Community Partners: Center for Civic Innovation (Charlottesville, Virginia), Belmont-Carlton Neighborhood Association (Charlottesville, Virginia), Jefferson Area Board for Aging (Charlottesville, Virginia), C4K (Charlottesville, Virginia), City of Richmond, Virginia, Sacred Grounds Historical Reclamation Project (Richmond, Virginia), UntoldRVA (Richmond, Virginia)

Learn more about this project.

Networked Public Space_Venice Exhibition Diagram — The NPS diagram above, laying out the exhibition design for the *Time Space Existence* show, visualizes the logic of the project as a network of components. The exhibition design presents the 2D prints as "a barcode" that features Richmond as a testbed, but projects that other applications or sites with different communities are possible. © NPS

TIME SPACE EXISTENCE

On view at the Palazzo Mora in Venice from May – November 2023 is the work of Networked Public Space. NSP participated in the sixth edition of Time Space Existence, an international exhibition on display at the home of the European Cultural Centre (ECC) — the exhibition features an international group of architects, artists, academics, and creative professionals who are exploring “emerging expressions of sustainability.” As part of the exhibition NPS contributes to a diverse body of design work that addresses social justice through various strategies, which the exhibition curators describe as, “examin[ing] the tensions between the built urban environment and the nature surrounding it…[while] establishing a dialogue with local culture.” While the NPS project showcased in the exhibition used Richmond, Virginia as a testbed, it presents an approach that can be adapted for other applications or sites with different communities. NPS is not a traditional design project, but a system, including different interfaces: an online dashboard, instructables, a website, and recorded interviews. Together this designed system can amplify the vision and objectives of communities and longstanding activists working on social and environmental transformation.

Exhibition Design: Mona El Khafif, Darcy Engle, Marian Roshdy

RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS + COLLABORATORS —

Our affiliated research partners and collaborators include resident and institutional stakeholder groups who work with us to develop flexible, responsive architectures and infrastructures in local public spaces.

Center for Civic Innovation
Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project
Untold RVA

NPS is made possible with support from the National Science Foundation S&CC grant # 1737581.