Smart City Technology and Civic Engagement in Ontario, Canada

As smart technologies become more integrated with daily life, vital digital literacy skills are necessary for citizens to engage with and benefit from their cities, local government, and economy. Libraries play an important role in mitigating the growing wealth gap in our communities, especially as it relates to opportunities provided by emerging technologies. With the call for smart city proposals in Toronto, Ontario, what role will the city's LAMs have in collaborating with these future developments? The Toronto Public Library (TPL), a trusted public institution, has a stake in implementing various frameworks and collaborating with government agencies in addressing public concerns around technologies that collect personal information for various purposes and ensuring that vulnerable populations are not left behind. Following an examination of the role libraries play in mitigating consequences of the digital divide, this chapter will discuss the various ways in which TPL and similar community libraries have been involved with digital literacy and inclusion. It will also explore how TPL has been identified by government agencies as a vehicle for civic engagement and oversight in the former Sidewalk Toronto smart city plan.

El distrito cultural y creativo del Digbeth (Birmingham, Reino Unido) y sus planes de regeneración urbana

The object of study of this research is the Digbeth cultural and creative district, located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The main objective is to analyze the urban regeneration processes and the different plans proposed by different entities to restore and revitalize the area. To achieve this, different data collection techniques have been used, such as in-depth interviews, in which the model developed by Charmaz and Belgrave (2014) was followed; the bibliographic review of primary and secondary sources and the participant observation as a complete observer. As a result, a scrupulous analysis is carried out of the urban regeneration plans that the Birmingham City Council has proposed regarding the Eastside area, where Digbeth is located, such as the Big City Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2011), the Birmingham Development Plan 2031 (Birmingham City Council, 2017) and specific redevelopment plans for the area, such as the Curzon Investment Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2016). Likewise, the different regeneration plans developed by private initiatives such as Oval Real Estate for Digbeth are considered, analyzed and detailed, as well as the strategic visions and specific proposals for the regeneration of the area. Esta investigación tiene como objeto de estudio el distrito cultural y creativo del Digbeth, situado en Birmingham, Reino Unido. Su principal objetivo es analizar los procesos de regeneración urbana y los diferentes planes propuestos por diferentes entes con la finalidad de rehabilitar y revitalizar el área. Para ello, se han usado diferentes técnicas de recolección de datos, como las entrevistas en profundidad, en las que se siguió el esquema de preguntas desarrollado por Charmaz y Belgrave (2014); la revisión bibliográfica tanto de fuentes primarias como secundarias y la observación participante, con carácter de observador completo. Como resultado, se realiza un escrupuloso análisis de los planes de regeneración urbana que el Ayuntamiento de la Birmingham plantea vinculados a la zona del Eastside, en la que se encuentra el Digbeth, como son el Big City Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2011), el Birmingham Development Plan 2031 (Birmingham City Council, 2017) y planes específicos para la remodelación para el área, como el Curzon Investment Plan (Birmingham City Council, 2016). Igualmente, se consideran, analizan y detallan los diferentes planes de regeneración desarrollados por iniciativas privadas como Oval Real Estate para el Digbeth, así como las visiones estrategias y las propuestas específicas de regeneración del área.

Analysis of urban elements orientations to characterize the spatial extension of the foundation of the Roman city of Amida

The structure of the historical center of the city of Diyarbakır is largely inherited from the Roman city of Amida, through numerous testimonies still present in certain urban elements, such as buildings or cadastral parcels. The detailed analysis of the orientation of these urban elements in the current urban plan of Diyarbakır can contribute in particular to a better understanding of the different eras of foundation of the city of Amida and their spatial extensions. This research proposes to compare two methods of extraction of orientations from urban elements of the city of Diyarbakır. First, historians carried out a manual survey of the orientations from an aerial photograph, which made it possible to bring out two frames corresponding to two eras of the founding of the Roman city of Amida. These orientations were then compared with those extracted automatically from the geographic databases of cadastral parcels and built-up urban elements captured at a large scale. If the results obtained with the two methods converge, they also show differences, both on the orientation values and on the spatial extension of the two frames observed. These differences may contradict the initial observations, but are also sources of new perspectives of research on the spatial extension of the different periods of foundation of the Roman city of Amida. Finally, the results of this research tend to show that the two approaches prove to be complementary in detecting ancient urban structures in a contemporary city plan.

In the Future, Will There Be Creative Cities in China?

The aim of this paper is to establish the notion of the creative city, show its essential characteristics, and critically evaluate and analyse what elements impact creativity and innovation in cities using real case studies and related literature. Finally, in the essay, the topic of whether or not China will have creative cities in the future is asked, and the feasibility of constructing creative cities in China is discussed, prompting a new way of thinking about China’s future creative city plan.

Wooden Extra Stories in Concrete Block of Flats in Finland as an Ecologically Sensitive Engineering Solution

This chapter examined the various stages and benefits of wooden extra stories from the perspective of Finnish housing and real estate companies through interviews with professionals involved in these projects. Key findings highlighted are as follows: (1) in the feasibility study, project planning primarily focuses on property condition and potential improvement targets as well as other considerations, for example, compliance with current regulations and parking arrangements; (2) in the project planning, application of extra stories is thoroughly examined, and construction costs, profits, and the sale of building rights are discussed; (3) in implementation planning, issues related to building rights, city plan change, and conditions of the company that manages the property play an important role; and (4) during construction, frequent information updates are made to residents regarding the site arrangements and the construction program. Wooden extra floor construction, which requires commitment, investment, and cooperation among the interested parties, has great potential in construction technology, contracting mechanisms, and ecological engineering solutions. It is believed that this chapter will increase the dissemination of wooden extra stories, thus contributing to the greater use of more sustainable materials in renovation projects and the ecologically sensitive engineering approaches to meet the challenges arising from climate change.