The Impact of Hyperconnectedness on Urban HCI: Challenges and Opportunities

As digital technology adoption is rapidly increasing, so too are digitally augmented public spaces which are supported by a mass of underlying invisible technologies. While the visible public technologies within them commonly consist of public interactive displays and media façades, personal technologies, such as smartphones and wearables, have also proliferated. The rise of personal technology usage in particular has caused society to shift towards a new paradigm of hyperconnectedness, where people are constantly connected to the internet through their personal devices. Considering this, the role of digital urban interventions (DUI) and their relevance to citizens in hyperconnected societies has become questionable. In this paper, we reflect on traditional forms of DUIs and discuss how they fit into a hyperconnected society, exploring challenges and opportunities. The primary aim of this work is to contribute a roadmap for urban HCI, highlighting the key topics that should see more focus moving forward.