University of Oregon research project
A human-scaled GIS: Measuring and visualizing social interaction in Barcelona’s Superilles
Research Assistants: Robert Ryan Kiesler + Jiawei Vincent Mai
Speranza, P. (2017) “A human-scaled GIS: measuring and visualizing social interaction in Barcelona’s Superilles”, Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Vol. 0, Iss. 0,0, Pages 1-22, Published online: 14 Jul 2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2017.1341426. *
Social interaction is a key component of urban sustainability, but its spatial measurement is difficult using existing off-site GIS data. This paper reports on a new method of measuring social interaction using a combination of mobile technology and parametric software, which was tested on two of Barcelona’s new semi-pedestrian superilles. The research is introduced within a theoretical framework for social interaction and cohesion adapted from a broader index of sustainability. It shows how on-site data collection can be used to measure the capacity of urban spaces to support social interaction. It is argued that the combination of mobile technologies, GIS data, and predetermined indicators of the capacity of spaces to support positive human experiences offers an important complement to more traditional methods of recording and measuring the qualities of urban spaces.
Social interaction is a key component of urban sustainability, but its spatial measurement is difficult using existing off-site GIS data. This paper reports on a new method of measuring social interaction using a combination of mobile technology and parametric software, which was tested on two of Barcelona’s new semi-pedestrian superilles. The research is introduced within a theoretical framework for social interaction and cohesion adapted from a broader index of sustainability. It shows how on-site data collection can be used to measure the capacity of urban spaces to support social interaction. It is argued that the combination of mobile technologies, GIS data, and predetermined indicators of the capacity of spaces to support positive human experiences offers an important complement to more traditional methods of recording and measuring the qualities of urban spaces.
Since 2012 my urban ecology and computation research in Barcelona, Portland and New York has used parametric GIS software to development tools that integrate design strategies with measured on-site urban phenomena. Measured urban qualities include public and private indicators of: 1) social qualities such as services, space, housing and job opportunities; 2) demographics such as age, income and cultural background and 3) infrastructure access such as transit, IT and pedestrian access. Ecological qualities of air, water and light are recently studied to complement social qualities in resilient and equitable urbanism.
Speranza, P (2016) “Social Interaction and Cohesion Tool: Integrating Socio-Computational Design in Urban Ecology for Barcelona’s Superilles,” Session: Urban Knowledge in Architectural Education moderated by Jeff Hou and Joseph Heathcott, Proceedings of Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting 2016, ACSA, Seattle, Washington. *
Speranza, P., Keisler, K. and Mai, V. (2015) “Social Interaction and Cohesion Tool: A Geospatial Analysis Tool to Develop Small Urban Planning for Barcelona’s Superillas” Computational Ecologies: Design in the Anthropocene, Association of Computer-Aided Design in Architecture Conference 2015, ACADIA, October 19-25, 2015, Cincinnati, Ohio. *
Social Interaction Tool
University of Oregon research project
A human-scaled GIS: Measuring and visualizing social interaction in Barcelona’s Superilles
Research Assistants: Robert Ryan Kiesler + Jiawei Vincent Mai
Speranza, P. (2017) “A human-scaled GIS: measuring and visualizing social interaction in Barcelona’s Superilles”, Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, Vol. 0, Iss. 0,0, Pages 1-22, Published online: 14 Jul 2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2017.1341426. *
Social interaction is a key component of urban sustainability, but its spatial measurement is difficult using existing off-site GIS data. This paper reports on a new method of measuring social interaction using a combination of mobile technology and parametric software, which was tested on two of Barcelona’s new semi-pedestrian superilles. The research is introduced within a theoretical framework for social interaction and cohesion adapted from a broader index of sustainability. It shows how on-site data collection can be used to measure the capacity of urban spaces to support social interaction. It is argued that the combination of mobile technologies, GIS data, and predetermined indicators of the capacity of spaces to support positive human experiences offers an important complement to more traditional methods of recording and measuring the qualities of urban spaces.
Social interaction is a key component of urban sustainability, but its spatial measurement is difficult using existing off-site GIS data. This paper reports on a new method of measuring social interaction using a combination of mobile technology and parametric software, which was tested on two of Barcelona’s new semi-pedestrian superilles. The research is introduced within a theoretical framework for social interaction and cohesion adapted from a broader index of sustainability. It shows how on-site data collection can be used to measure the capacity of urban spaces to support social interaction. It is argued that the combination of mobile technologies, GIS data, and predetermined indicators of the capacity of spaces to support positive human experiences offers an important complement to more traditional methods of recording and measuring the qualities of urban spaces.
Since 2012 my urban ecology and computation research in Barcelona, Portland and New York has used parametric GIS software to development tools that integrate design strategies with measured on-site urban phenomena. Measured urban qualities include public and private indicators of: 1) social qualities such as services, space, housing and job opportunities; 2) demographics such as age, income and cultural background and 3) infrastructure access such as transit, IT and pedestrian access. Ecological qualities of air, water and light are recently studied to complement social qualities in resilient and equitable urbanism.
Speranza, P (2016) “Social Interaction and Cohesion Tool: Integrating Socio-Computational Design in Urban Ecology for Barcelona’s Superilles,” Session: Urban Knowledge in Architectural Education moderated by Jeff Hou and Joseph Heathcott, Proceedings of Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Annual Meeting 2016, ACSA, Seattle, Washington. *
Speranza, P., Keisler, K. and Mai, V. (2015) “Social Interaction and Cohesion Tool: A Geospatial Analysis Tool to Develop Small Urban Planning for Barcelona’s Superillas” Computational Ecologies: Design in the Anthropocene, Association of Computer-Aided Design in Architecture Conference 2015, ACADIA, October 19-25, 2015, Cincinnati, Ohio. *