Publish at March 31 2014 Updated November 19 2025
Modern man seems to have appropriated a multi-dimensional space in which he both inscribes himself and transforms it. The city offers him a formidable terrain for experimentation, and new technologies enable him to evolve far beyond a three-dimensional reality.
However, it has to be said that digital technology does little to change urban planning, and that it is more appropriate to look at the mutations of man himself.
In 2011, Serge Wachter's article " la ville numérique: quels enjeux pour demain? " ( The digital city: what's at stake for tomorrow? ) raised a number of questions about the changes that digital technology was bringing to urban planning. What does his analysis reveal?
Based on the conclusions of W.J. Mitchell, the author considered that " such material resistance or low elasticity to change is due to the prevalence of urban grids shaped by road networks " and that " the permanence of road infrastructures, and particularly streets, can be explained by their structuring character, but also by their capacity to evolve and adapt to changes in urban fabrics ". The architecture of our urban environment would therefore be characterized both by its latent inertia, which forms an immutable imprint, and by its capacity to make room for new constructions and innovations, both aesthetic and creative.
This duality can be better understood if we distinguish, for the sake of convenience, between urban networks (roads, transport, wiring, etc.) and buildings.
If we look at urban development plans over several decades, we can see that the layout follows constant principles. The streets in city centers are hardly ever subject to change, due to the close interweaving of historic and protected buildings and the limited space devoted to roadways. If we take the example of the work currently being carried out by towns and cities to install fiber optics, the physical cabling mainly follows the existing routes and networks. In this respect, digital technology has very little impact on urban planning. Several levels of technology coexist, a historical snapshot of urban technical innovations.
As far as buildings are concerned, few cities are radically integrating this digital dimension into their organization. However, the creative work of contemporary architects should not be overlooked. Urban design" is moving ever closer to digital technology and its innovative potential. So we can't help but be interested in the new architectural possibilities offered by software modeling. The morphology of our constructions is experimental, monumental, offering new geometric readings and seeming to push back the rules of equilibrium and the laws of physics.
To this we add "hidden architecture", a revolution in itself, as it enables multiple interactions with human beings. Buildings are equipped with thousands of sensors and sensitive signals, and " transformed into an artificial environment, architecture is no longer defined by its spatial and material forms, but above all produces ambiences where color, light, temperature, acoustics and ventilation encourage the occupant's immersion in a universe of sensations ". The building is no longer a physical mass that imposes itself on the individual, but an object with which he interacts and to which he delivers his emotions.
Thanks to the sensors integrated into buildings and urban objects, and to mobile applications, the city opens up new spaces to man. Our connections provide us with a playground, but also a fertile learning ground. Geolocation holds considerable potential for innovation. If we can now be tourists and take advantage of moments of wandering to learn about a building, a street, an event related to the place, we can also exchange with other individuals. Serge Wachter notes: " A street is a technical object, a material infrastructure, but it is now also a digital and informational infrastructure. It houses and condenses clouds of data. This data can be captured, annotated and "augmented" by passers-by and local residents. Places can be digitally "tagged" by those who visit them, leaving comments, annotations and impressions for subsequent visitors and passers-by. "
Through the billions of data flows exchanged, cyber urbanism becomes both a learning medium, thanks to the informational content it contains, and a space for communication, thanks to the human relationships it fosters.
Photo: nmedia, Shutterstock.com
Wachter, Serge. "La ville numérique: quels enjeux pour demain?" Métropolitiques. Publication date November 28, 2011. http://www.metropolitiques.eu/La-ville-numerique-quels-enjeux.html.
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