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Complexity of e-interactions in the urban space networks
The first aspect of ICT in urban space relates to the complexity of this emerging technology.
While the advancements in ICT in urban communities are developing at such an extraordinary pace, it has become increasingly complex. Within the context of urban structures and networks, the 1800s marked the introduction of the automobile, which started shaping the form and structure of what was then predominantly a rural landscape. Although this automobile created new networks and connections between places and people and new types of urban spaces, it also resulted in many undesirable and unsustainable footprints and networks all over the world. The direct and indirect environmental impacts were very severe and lasting.
Contrary to some perceptions, ICT, has actually not (yet) done much to change the planning and design of South African cities, or the structure or physical networks of cities. The market and urban space economy still sets the tone for business opportunities and the commercial value of urban land. In addition, transport systems still predominantly dictate the design and structure of cities and their networks. I would like to point out, however, that urban spaces and their functions have become increasingly complex, which makes these spaces very unpredictable and difficult to plan for. The new millennium has now presented ICT and it remains unclear whether this technology could be the solution to the creation of functional, equitable urban spaces, and whether this technology will result in undesirable urban forms and distorted networks. The impact of this technology on people, for instance, was presented in the previous parts of this journey. This confusion or uncertainty is further complicated by different viewpoints, amongst others, those that argue that “physical urban space will not exist in the future”, or those that argue that “innovation will crash and will cease to exist”. Other viewpoints included that new technologies will be extinguished, or that technologies will escalate to such an extent that it will be utilized more than ever before.
Although it is difficult at this stage for me to even imagine the nature of future complexities and impacts, it is my view that these emerging technologies will in the future continue to penetrate the urban space and networks in various ways. A case in point is a documentary on the City of Tokyo, aired on 10 December 2015, (Courtesy of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC)), which cautioned that innovation in ICT had penetrated city space in depths past what the human mind can fathom. The complexity of ICT and the impact thereof on people and space, also created a mystery around these emerging virtual cities and spaces, which for some people have become imperceptible, dimensionless and ubiquitous. It is exactly this mystery, complexity and vagueness, which make it so difficult and almost impossible to anticipate activities in these spaces and to plan and manage urban spaces and cities. The frightening part for me, is that this mystery and complexity in space are escalating as new ICT technologies and influences are affecting these spaces. ICT development in recent years has changed urban space into instructive and informational spaces that predominantly manufacture and distribute new information. Virtual systems in these spaces have become very complex and viral. In the City of Tshwane, for instance, systems use data from sensors, cell phones, and the internet. The creation of data in these spaces at a large scale and extreme speed is overwhelming. ICT operations in cities have now enabled urban communities and urban development to “leapfrog” urban growth and urban space through innovations (Datta, 2015: 10). In other words, ICT has created the opportunity to develop and invest in other areas, e.g. peripheral areas, or areas and spaces which were previously not ripe or desirable for development. To further add to the complexity, the depth of innovation in ICT, on the one hand, has made available and opened up opportunities in space, but on the other hand also placed limitations on urban spaces and networks.
As I indicated in the previous parts of this journey, ICT operates as a double-edged sword bringing unique experiences in urban space networks, but also inflicting pain on people. For example, the same technology that includes individuals in communication in urban space excludes individuals from urban space. In South African cities the acquisition of new cell phones is based on contracts, which are based on proof of employment. The majority of the poor population in the cities, however, is unemployed and cannot provide such proof.
However, there is also another group of people that acquires phones without contracts. These people typically purchase airtime in different forms to activate connections. Most of the poor people do not have the funds to buy sufficient airtime to continue to be connected. The problem, however, is that, irrespective whether you have a device or not, and whether you are connected or not, the majority of poor people cannot afford sufficient data to access urban and virtual spaces and the opportunities presented by these spaces. These two extreme worlds make it a challenge to integrate and link more people with urban networks and spaces. These challenges are very complex and this complexity makes urban dynamics and networks difficult to unravel and understand.
Time, speed and pulse of e-activities in urban space networks
It was interesting for me to note that, while a huge number of individuals relocate to urban regions in the hope of discovering better work opportunities, more often than not, they find the pace of life in the city too rapid and too costly. It was my observation that people often migrate with the intention to make a profit in the city, only to find that, contrary to their expectations, the “cost of time” and the speed at which things move, have limited or restricted possible occupations and opportunities.
Therefore, with ICT innovations the priorities of life in the city for individuals living in urban areas has changed. Migrants go to the city looking for personal fulfilment, just to find it progressively hard to associate with the fast-paced technologically advanced urban space system. Such experiences have led to disappointment, sometimes leading to violent urban protest action.
I would like to refer you to SALGA (2015: 9), that argues that the internet and related etechnologies and the fast speed at which they operate, contrast strongly with the (slower) speed at which physical infrastructure develops. In other words, e-infrastructure is developing at a faster pace than physical infrastructure. However, according to Eatough (2015: 691), it is unclear whether the South African Government has increased the pace of infrastructure construction in urban communities in line with the fast pace of ICT development (ibid: 692). If we look at “time” within the context of ICT, we are now witnessing different and multiple time zones in urban space networks. For instance, the physical urban space network can change incrementally and simultaneously, while the virtual space network is highly automated and fast.
A good example to illustrate the speed of data in virtual space is the speed of internet availability. On 16 March 20xx in Tshwane, I observed that the internet speeds were 6.7 mbps (megabytes per second) for downloading data and 2.5 mbps for transferring data. Worldwide counterparts are working at around ten times this rate. For example, in 2015 Tokyo in Japan had an internet speed of 56.4 mbps for downloading data, and a speed of 55.8 mbps for transferring data (OOKLA, 2015). As indicated by Akamai specialists, by the second quarter of 2013, broadband availability velocity was at 35.7 mbps in the United Kingdom (London), 22.1 in France (Paris), 68.6 in South Korea (Seoul), while it was just 7 mbps in Tshwane. The virtual systems in Tshwane are operating at one-fifth of the velocity of that of London.
While the above section dealt with the speed of data in virtual space, the next section presents an example of the speed of one kind of infrastructure in physical space, namely the transport sector. The transport sector illustrates how ICT has distorted the notion of time in urban space. For instance, while the fastest public road transport in Tshwane, the Gautrain, has a speed of 100 miles per hour, the fastest train in the USA runs at 150 miles per hour, while the Maglev in Japan operates at 310 miles per hour. France’s TGV is estimated to run at 350 miles per hour (100topdocumentary, 2014; Chu, 2014). There is no doubt in my mind that there are exorbitant “speeds and movements” operational in the city and its urban and virtual spaces. However, fast trains present an example of “fast infrastructure” and an infrastructure that developed primarily through fast technology. However, if we look at other “slower” infrastructures in the physical space, it is obvious that there is much disjuncture between the pace of movement of these two seemingly opposing sets of infrastructure.
CHAPTER 1: PONDERING THE PREVALENCE OF ICT IN URBAN SPACE
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH PROBLEM
2.1 UNPACKING THE PROBLEM (AND INSPIRATION FOR THIS RESEARCH)
2.2 THE AIM OF THE RESEARCH
2.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE STUDY
3.1 HOW IT ALL BEGAN
3.2 VIABILITY TEST
3.3 READINGS AND LITERATURE (AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH AND THE STORY)
3.4 HISTORICAL SPATIAL MAPPING AND TOOLS USED FOR ANALYSIS
3.5 THE META-RESEARCH APPROACH
3.6 CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH SUPPORT
3.7 DISCARDED METHODS
3.8 THE AUTHOR, THE STORY AND THE JOURNEY
CHAPTER 4: DIALOGUES ON ICT…AND THE IMPACT THEREOF ON PEOPLE, URBAN SPACE NETWORKS, URBAN SPACE ECONOMY AND URBAN PLANNING
4.1 DIALOGUES ON ICT…AND THE IMPACT THEREOF ON PEOPLE (AND PEOPLE’S SPACES)
4.2 DIALOGUES ON ICT…AND THE IMPACT THEREOF ON URBAN DYNAMICS, URBAN SPACE AND NETWORKS
4.3 DIALOGUES ON ICT …AND THE IMPACT THEREOF ON URBAN PLANNING AND PLANNERS
4.4 THE EMERGING E-POWERS ASSOCIATED WITH ICT AND THE CONSTRUCTS IN 4.1, 4.2, AND 4.3 ABOVE
4.5 THE REALITY AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SOUTH AFRICA AND A METRO REGION SUCH AS THE CITY OF TSHWANE
CHAPTER 5: SYNTHESIS AND CONTRIBUTION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 REFLECTING BACK ON THE FOUR JOURNEYS (CHAPTERS 1 – 4)
5.3 SYNTHESISING THE DISCOURSE, IMPACTS AND POWERS
5.4 ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED
5.5 THE CONTRIBUTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
