The information layer of a city is a vast, multi-directional and transcalar network of nodes that includes a lot of different actors. After mapping how the different layers of information are connected, we focused on the way that the accessibility of data is connected to the infrastructure of the urban landscape. More specifically, how the public administration of Barcelona is connecting the information that it posesses with the citizens.

After looking at specific initiatives that the public administration conducted to connect to the citizens we concluded that the initiatives were not very successful when it came to connecting to the optimum amount of citizens.

Therefore, we researched different tools that make data more accessible, like the Urbanflow urban screens in Helsinki, a projectof Urbanscale and Nordkapp. This tool makes the city more transparent and reactive the citizens needs, makes navigation for visitors easier and for locals more serendipitous. More importantly, the city officials and municipal goverments are provided with a completely new way to connect with citizens and visitors and a city that is more connected to its people, works and feels better.

In addition to the Urban Screen we considered new infrastructure technologies, namely the Beacons a proximity technology that detects human presence and behaviour and triggers pre-programmed actions delivering contextual and personalised experiences.

By combining the Urban screens, the beacons and the need for more connection between the public administration and the citizens we began to picture a new infrastructure. Proposing Poblenou as a test neighborhood where a network of urban screens, beacons and a software for the citizens smartphones can be created in order to give Poblenou a voice through the smartphones and a face through the Urban screens. The goal of this new infrastructure is to not only create a new relationship between the citizens and the public administration but also to reestablish the importance of data by bringing out of the Cloud into the streets of Poblenou.

Connecting the Public Administration to the People is a project of Iaac, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia at Master in City and Technogy in 2016/2017 by:
Students: Alex Mademo, Laura Marcovich
Faculty: Tomas Diez, Mathilde Marengo