ConnectiCity: Real-Time Observation and Interaction for Cities Using Information Harvested from Social Networks

This paper presents the approaches, methodologies and results of a multidisciplinary research project which, over the last 4 years, was able to investigate on the possibility to observe the behavior of city dwellers using information harvested from social networks which was then analyzed using Natural Language Processing techniques to gather insights about the emotions and themes expressed in the messages, and Geo-Referencing, Geo-Parsing and Geo-Coding techniques to understand their relevancy to the various parts of the city. Infoaesthetics and multiple forms of information visualization were designed and used to make information accessible from a variety of perspectives, including ones created to suggest novel practices for Urban Planning, and some versions designed to suggest and support citizen-initiated activities. Research results have been presented, over time, under the form of live prototypes which used urban screens, web applications, mobile applications, and digital devices to promote novel practices for city administration and governance, as well as for participatory and peer-to-peer Urban Planning techniques which would benefit from the produced technologies, methodologies and visualization and interaction metaphors.