I. FRAMING THE RESEARCH
The literature I have reviewed highlights the crucial role of well-designed, well-taken-care-of social infrastructure in facilitating face-to-face interactions and civic participation, which in turn foster social bonds, trust, mutual support and a heightened sense of ownership; leading to safety, employment opportunities, rise in property value, community resilience and improved overall well-being.
My work proposes to jump-start the aforementioned interactions and cooperation in a hyperlocal digital environment, conceptualized as an extension – rather than a replacement – of the neighborhood’s social dimension, and to simultaneously leverage the generated insights to inform inclusive urban design and activated social spaces that respond to the community’s needs in a feedback loop of engagement and improvement.
The 21st century neighborhood thus restores its fundamental role as a “social medium” – facilitating online and offline interactions, fostering trust and social cohesion, and responding in-real-time to the evolving needs of its residents.
II. RESEARCH CONTEXT: La Mina, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona
La Mina: a Well-Connected, Well-Located Neighborhood with Much to Offer
Stigmatization through the Perpetration of an Exaggerated Negative Image in Media
History of the Development of La Mina
Current Building Use
Housing Value Disparity
Public Space vs. Urban Voids
Ground Floor Usage: Daytime
Ground Floor Usage: After 9:00 PM
III. EXPLORING SOLUTIONS
How can hyperlocal, context-aware digital interventions — such as a neighborhood-level urban social media platform — foster physical and virtual social interaction, build trust, and empower residents in La Mina, Barcelona, while generating actionable insights on socio-spatial dynamics to bridge the gap between community needs and policy-making, informing inclusive urban design and public space activation in a feedback loop of engagement and improvement?
Role Vision
* diagram inspired from AA Spatial Translations
PLATFORM FEATURES:
Target Users
Sign Up Process
AI Generated Visions of La Mina
Likes, Dislikes and Feedback
Matching Neighbors for Sharing Economy
