Out of Toner: 2010

23.8.10

KONIOR STUDIO: Science and Musical Education Centre, Katowice

available @ konior studio

Cisco's Big Bet on New Songdo: Creating Cities From Scratch | Fast Company

available @ fastcompany

U-City: New Trends of Urban Planning in Korea Based on Pervasive Ubiquitous Geotechnology and Geoinformation - Myungjun Jang

available @ slideshare

Rumor: Verizon Launching Google Chrome OS Tablet on Black Friday

available @ fastcompany

jeonghwa seo + hanna chung: ripple effect tea table

available @ designboom

Seoul: World's Most Wired Megacity Gets More So

available @ time

Thesis Beginning - The U City

One of the most desired resources in today’s global society is bandwidth. In some societies the amount of internet bandwidth which an area processes is as important as the direction of the houses main windows. Countries like South Korea and Singapore lead the way in the developing technologies that bring their citizens to a higher level of local and global connectedness. The former has set about designing new cities, Songdo being the finest example, based on a foundation of wired and wireless connectivity and this foundation will soon be built upon by China and India (Fast Company, 2010).

South Korea’s capital Seoul, deemed by Time Magazine as the world’s most wired city, has recently looked to expand its communications network through a concept called the Ubiquitous City. Already, Seoul has a connected network which has become integral to it’s ability to function (Time, 2009), so much so that actions like getting a waiters attention, checking the air quality in an area or checking the location of your bus can all be achieved through communication networks, accessible through personal and public resources. Seoul, and new cities like Songdo, are increasingly being seen as the cities of the future for their use of technology and the advantages that this brings for inhabitants and the influence that they can have on society (Fast Company, 2010).

“Seoul’s level of connectedness, either via high-speed cable or through the ether, has changed forever the way this massive city is governed” (Time,2009: 42)

What cannot be in doubt is that Glasgow, and the United Kingdom, lags behind is European and global competitors in regards to bandwidth and connectivity (Akamai, 2009). In a society where there is a growing demand for information that is instantly accessible, is an increase in bandwidth enough to fulfil peoples appetite for knowledge? Even if the Government’s ambitions of having the fastest broadband in Europe by 2015 is achievable (BBC,2010), is it not more ambitious to look to a society which uses technology in all areas of life, not merely through a PC, laptop or smartphone.

The benefits of a connected society should not be underestimated either. After the 1997 Asian economic crisis the Korean government made a concerted effort to move the focus of the country’s economy from heavy industry to one that included information technology, and to great success (Time 2009).

This thesis would propose to look at the effects that a U-City project, within a larger connected communications development, would have on the city of Glasgow. This would look at theories and practical applications of the U-City project, both in Seoul and Songdo. The thesis would culminate in an exciting vision of Glasgow as a connected community, using information technology as a means of increasing civil accountability, enhancing the city’s public image and providing economic expansion.