Software-Sorted Geographies Steven Graham http://eprints.dur.ac.uk/archive/00000057/
On Sep 23, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Ryan Griffis wrote:
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/realtime-rome.html
i like this comment from the web site:
"
Ratti believes these types of visualizations will help reduce the inefficiencies of present day urban systems and open the way to a more sustainable future: "Our hope is that projects like Real Time Rome will give city dwellers more control over their environment by allowing them to make more informed decisions about their surroundings. Imagine being able to avoid traffic congestion, or knowing where people are congregating on a Saturday afternoon. In a worst-case scenario, such real time systems could also make it easier to evacuate a city in case of emergency."
"
it's DIY Taylorism!
To quote Tim "Speed" Levitch, that's so "anti-cruise"!
One thing i wonder about, however, is, if everyone has access to this wonderful infrastructure of information that allows them to avoid traffic jams, who are the unlucky folks that are causing the congestion in the first place? In these scenarios, technology is always helping people avoid other people in situations that are not desirable, and allowing them to be in situations that are desirable. But they always maintain that there will be undesirable situations that need to be avoided. Doesn't this imply, not-so- subtly, that the very need for, or at least the functionality of, the technology springs from a situation of inequitable distribution?
In an equitable situation, where the benefits of the tech are evenly distributed, what purpose, honestly, would this technology serve other than more focused advertising and better control of populations?
Sure, medical needs, mass transit and all of that... yeah, because equitable health care and public transportation are driving forces of technology and commercial/gov interests.
Why not track sources of power, like, say the cops... lots of people could benefit from that. imagine always knowing where a cop was, whether you need one, or want to avoid one.
And we could see the inequitable distribution of resources in places like Los Angeles and Chicago... how many cops present in South Central/South Chicago versus Beverly Hills/The Loop. That would be useful.
Not likely to get the sponsorship of telcoms or biennales.
No, we better stick with finding ways for people to avoid traffic and meet up with friends.
</riffing on k's sarcasm>
i know my comments are very US centric in their concerns... and could very easily sound preachy/self-righteous. Maybe i am guilty of that a bit, my apologies if so.
best,
ryan
On Sep 22, 2006, at 9:00 PM, empyre-request@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au wrote:
This project reminds me of the US government's failed TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS program.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness
Very similar to imperial cartographic traditions (the assertion of omniscient presence, the all-seeing, celestial eye, etc), the logo for the program said it all:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness#The_IAO_logo
But, in the end, I'm really glad that MIT is making the world safer, more understandable and more visible for all of us and not for the bad people. Even better, it seems to be art since it's at the Venice Biennale, so I'm sure there is nothing scary, imperial, colonizing or threatening about it.
</end deep sarcasm>
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