ucl oct 2012
TRANSCRIPT
The City Knowledge Platform Intelligent Urban Agents for Smart Cities
Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis October 19, 2012 University College London Fabio Carrera
Fabio Carrera • Associate Professor at WPI • BSEE, MSCS (WPI) • PhD in Urban Information Systems and Planning (MIT) • Venice, Boston and Santa Fe Project Centers (WPI) • Chair of Spencer Planning Board • 100’s of City Projects for past 25 years
Key CK Papers: • Scholar.google.com (Fabio Carrera) • Carrera 2004 (MIT Dissertation) • Carrera & Ferreira (2007) • Carrera & Hewitt (2006)
TODAY
Part I: Cities and City Knowledge Part II: Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems
Part III: Demonstrations of CK Platform
TODAY
Part I: Cities and City Knowledge Part II: Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems
Part III: Demonstrations of CK Platform
PART I: CITIES AND CITY KNOWLEDGE
Urban Data Management City Knowledge Concepts
URBAN DATA MANAGEMENT 1.0
Documentation (vs. Information) Silos and Stovepipes
Redundancy and Discrepancies Staff, Vendors and Consultants
Complicated Cross-Coordination
CITY KNOWLEDGE CONCEPTS
Foundations Premises
Tenets Implementation
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
City Knowledge: An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28790 (google: ”City Knowledge MIT”)
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
Information
An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
“As the variety of geospatial information and data resources increases each year, the demand for understanding and building sustainable information and knowledge structures remains a critical research challenge for the geo-spatial information community.” Shuler, 2003. Research Priority of the University Consortium of Geographic Information Science.
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
Information Infrastructure
An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
Like the water distribution system, the road network, the sewage system… (connected, efficient, maintained, funded, pervasive)
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
Information Infrastructure Emergent
An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
Not centrally designed or imposed from the top, but gradually constructed from self-serving departmental modules
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
Information Infrastructure Emergent Sustainable
An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
Not a single-purpose do-it-all system doomed for obsolescence, but continually fed with perpetual update mechanisms
DISSERTATION (MIT) - 2004
Information Infrastructure Emergent Sustainable Maintenance, Management & Planning
An Emergent Information Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Maintenance, Management and Planning
Useful in multiple contexts, serving the operational (maintenance) needs of the town first, while also feeding higher-order management and planning functions of the municipality.
EVOLUTION OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Plan Demanded Data Plan Ready Information
Plan Demanding Knowledge
EVOLUTION OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Plan Demanded Data Plan Ready Information
Plan Demanding Knowledge • Data is collected for a “specific” reason when a plan or a process demands it. • It is typically acquired as documentation to support a decision/plan. • It is not used for anything else. • It is often discarded (archived) after it is used once.
Status Quo in Most Cities
EVOLUTION OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Plan Demanded Data Plan Ready Information
Plan Demanding Knowledge • Plan-demanded data is acquired as information • Where possible, richer data is collected to serve multiple purposes • Data is preserved beyond its immediate use • Up-to-date information is always available for plans/processes
CK = Information at your fingertips (efficiency)
EVOLUTION OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Plan Demanded Data Plan Ready Information
Plan Demanding Knowledge • Over time, patterns/issues emerge from an analysis of plan-ready information • This knowledge triggers the demand for a plan to address issues
CK+ = Unforeseen Benefits Emerge (Value-added bonus)
GOAL OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
To promote the transformation of Municipalities from Hunter-gatherers of urban data to Farmers of municipal information
PHILOSOPHY OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
treated as any other City Infrastructure farmed not hunted
atomized by urban element re-combined and re-used
Urban Information should be:
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past can be reconstructed (once) Future can be intercepted (daily)
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past is capturable (once)
Future is also capturable (daily)
• Spatially (boundaries) • Temporally (past and future)
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past is capturable (once)
Future is also capturable (daily)
“The Fundamental problem is to decide what the form of a human settlement consists of […] […] the chosen ground is the spatiotemporal distribution of human actions and the physical things which are the context of those actions […]”. Kevin Lynch, Good City Form
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past is capturable (once)
Future is also capturable (daily) • Like politics, “all change is local” • Change is brought about (primarily) by private sector • Change is filtered by municipalities
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past can be reconstructed (once)
Future can be intercepted (daily) • There is a lot of “stuff” already out there • But the amount is finite • And it only needs to be captured once
PREMISES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Cities are “finite” City = Structures & Activities
Municipal gov. controls urban change Past can be reconstructed (once)
Future can be intercepted (daily)
• Structures change slowly yet daily • But Change is filtered by government
• Activities change rapidly • But can be frozen periodically • And not that frequently
TENETS OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Space is “the glue” Activities are localizable
Data stays where it is created Self-interest guides adoption
Middle-out = bottom-up + top-down
PRINCIPLES OF CITY KNOWLEDGE
Espouse a Middle-out Approach Demarcate Informational Jurisdictions
Relentlessly Accrue Fine-grained Data Implement Sustainable Update Mechanisms
Share Information Selectively Coordinate Across Departments and Agencies
Treat Information as an Infrastructure!
ADOPTING CITY KNOWLEDGE
Adopt an information-aware m.o. Extract informational returns systematically
Connect datasets through “space” Develop department-level solutions
Start with “low-hanging” fruits
n Atomize
n Codify and Index through Space n Represent “literally” n Capture permanently n Acquire at the finest practical grain n Parameterize teleologically n Spatialize dynamic activities n Maximize informational returns
The Lessons
Treat Information as an Infrastructure
n Fine-grain is now achievable inexpensively
n Backlog is finite n Change is interceptable n Technologies can automate data collection n Application of the 6 tools can do the rest n Internet-based information facilitates sharing n Departments are in charge n Regional patterns will emerge
The Essence of CK
Treat Information as an Infrastructure
IMPLEMENTING CITY KNOWLEDGE
Connecting Legacy Systems Collecting Backlog Data
Capturing Future Change Facilitating Interagency Coordination Identifying Self-funding Mechanisms
TODAY
Part I: Cities and City Knowledge Part II: Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems
Part III: Demonstrations of CK Platform
PART II: COMPLEXITY AND CITIES
Complexity Principles Urban Agents
The City Knowledge Platform
PART II: COMPLEXITY AND CITIES
Complexity Principles CK + ABM = Urban Agents
The City Knowledge Platform
COMPLEXITY PRINCIPLES
Santa Fe Complex Adaptive Systems
Agents Models
Complexity and Cities
COMPLEXITY AND SANTA FE
Santa Fe Institute Redfish
Santa Fe Complex WPI Santa Fe Project Center
Santa Fe Institute
COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
Self-Organizing Structures Lightning, Tornadoes and Whirlpools
Complex Animal Behaviors Swarming & Foraging
Attraction/Repulsion & Stigmergy
A Simple Agent
Repel
Attract
Repel
dual gradients in ant foraging algorithm Antz
Stigmergic Behavior
AGENTS
Simple Autonomous Behavior Not guided by overarching control
Find & Remove Gradients Monitor & Change Space
AGENT BASED MODELING
Modeling of Activities Thin Agents
Complex Distributed Behavior No Central “Brain”
2D Crowd Evacuations (90’s)
2.5D Evacuation w/ Interaction
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play “CerroGordo_15seconds.mov” here
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Multi-model Applications
Pedestrians and Changing Space (‘06)
COMPLEXITY AND CITIES
Cities are Self-Organizing Structures City Government softens Gradients
USA: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Rome: Humanitas, Libertas et Felicitas
The CK Platform as applied Complexity (1) Agents and Stigmergy
(2) City Gradients and City Processes
PART II: COMPLEXITY AND CITIES
Complexity Principles CK + ABM = Urban Agents
The City Knowledge Platform
URBAN AGENTS
Urban Agents (for Structures and Activities) Birth Certificates
Intelligent Urban Assets
Coats of Arms Confraternity Symbols
Crosses Fragments
Sculptures Inscriptions Patere Street Altars Reliefs
Bells Church Floors
Fountains Wellheads
Lunette
Decorations
Keystones Portals
Monuments • Flagstaff Pedestals
Example: Venice Public Art
UNESCO Public Art App
PART II: COMPLEXITY AND CITIES
Complexity Principles Urban Agents
The City Knowledge Platform
THE CITY KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM
Urban Data Farming Interagency Coordination
URBAN DATA FARMING
Legacy Data Automatic sensors
Mobile Apps
LEGACY DATA
Integrated, not supplanted Instant updates
Bi-directional synchronization The CK Console
The CK Chrome Extension
CK Console
CK Chrome Extension
AUTOMATIC SENSORS
Data Loggers Surveillance Cameras
Existing underutilized sensor networks
Energence
Boston Street Lights
Subscribing to Camera Pixels
MOBILE APPS
InputApp.com VeniceNoise.org StreetBump.org
PreserVenice.org
InputApp
Venicenoise.org
StreetBump.org
PreserVenice.org
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION
Privacy and Security Private and/or Public Data
Sharing with Groups Interactive collaborative Environments
play “firefighters.m4v” here
[email protected] fabiocarrera.com [email protected]
THANKS!