Digital Practices for the Study of Urban Heritage (UDigiSH)

The UDigiSH Working Group focuses on the study of Digital Methods and Good Practices of heritage and urban change, impact of urban development on cultural heritage, the identity of the city and the role of civil society.

Unlisted historic buildings and heritage are under threat in European cities, with direct impact to the cohesion of their communities and everyday lives of citizens. Challenged by urbanization, economic difficulties, gentrification and migration the experience of historic spaces and buildings is fragmented thus mirroring the disconnected perception of urban societies. The Digital practices for the Study of urban Heritage Working Group acknowledges both the urgency and the complexity of these challenges proposing a holistic and inclusive approach that can be applied to identify and tackle these socioeconomic and cultural issues.

The Working Group discusses the attribution of cultural values to built heritage, towards inclusive, innovative and reflective societies – for example, in conflict spaces the common past and heritage can be established as a bridge for peace. Responding to contemporary pressing challenges of urban environments can only be achieved through the transnational collaboration as the challenges are complex and ill-defined and thus cannot be dealt with at a local scale.

Topics:
 Digital Humanities for the Study of Historic Cities
 A Cloud for the Preservation of Cultural Rights
 Promotion of Cultural Dialogue
 GeoVisualisation of Urban Histories
 Participatory Digital Narratives and Citizen Science in Cultural Heritage: co-creation and co-management of informal stories and memories

Perspectives:
 Cultural Heritage institutions
 Scholars and researchers in Digital Humanities
 City stakeholders and professional associations
 Urban communities and citizen groups

[Left] Immersive visualisation technologies enable researchers at the Virtual Environments Lab (The Cyprus Institute) to collect real-time interaction data of citizens exploring heritage sites in urban environments; [Right] Preliminary evaluation tests conducted during the COST Action TU1306 ‘CyberParks’ Training School at Nicosia (2017), cf. http://amzn.eu/d/3q6NExV.

Aerial view rendering of the accurate 3D model of Nicosia which is used for the holistic study of the historic Eastern Mediterranean city, the last divided capital in Europe, cf. http://avl.ncsa.illinois.edu/realworld-software/riveel-3d.

Online platform for the post-processing, accessing, visualisation, exchange and storage of data and datasets respecting the H2020 FAIR policies (http://dchrepo.vi-seem.eu).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publications:

Artopoulos, G., Smaniotto Costa, C. (2019). Data-driven processes in participatory urbanism: the “smartness” of historical cities. In Journal Architecture and Culture (Taylor & Francis)  Vol 7 (3), 473-491; DOI: 10.1080/20507828.2019.1631061

Artopoulos, G., Charalambous P., Wehmeier, C. (2019). Immersive Computing and Crowd Simulation Techniques in Modelling Urban Commons: The Case of Nicosia-Cyprus. In International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR)          8(1), 35-49; 10.4018/IJEPR.2019010103

Artopoulos, G., Arvanitides, Paschalis, Suomalainen, Sari (2019). Using ICTs in the management of public spaces as a commons. In CyberParks-The Interface Between People, Places and Technology. New Approaches and Perspectives. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS 11380) – State of the Art Survey (Springer), 167-180; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13417-4

Cairns, G., Artopoulos, G. and Kirsten, D., eds, From Conflict to Inclusion (University College London Press, 2017).

Artopoulos, G., Bagni, F., and Miltiadis, C. ‘Hybrid Heritagescapes as Urban Commons in Mediterranean Cities: Accessing the deep-rooted spatial interfaces of cities’ in Marluci Menezes and Carlos Smaniotto Costa, Neighbourhood & City – analogue and digital perspectives (Portugal: Edições Lusófona, 2018).

 

Website

Visit the UDigiSH blog for more information.

Contacts

• Carlos Smaniotto Costa

  Professor of Urban Ecology and Landscape Design, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning

  Carlos Smaniotto Costa (PhD) is a Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner, graduated at the University...

  Carlos Smaniotto Costa (PhD) is a Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner, graduated at the University of Hanover, Germany. He is professor of Urban Ecology and Landscape Design at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon (Portugal), and member and project leader of Lusófona’s R&D Unit CeiED Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development, where he is coordinating national and international founded research and practice-oriented projects. Carlos Smaniotto has a vast experience in planning in Germany, Italy and Brazil, in the fields of design of urban environment, open space planning and urban development projects. His research activities deal with issues of sustainable urban development, strategies for the integration of open spaces and nature conservation in the urban context, research methods and participatory processes along urban and landscape design and urban sociology - the relationship between built and social life in cities. Smaniotto was the chair of the COST Action TU 1306 Cyberparks and is the coordinator of the H2020 Project C3Places – both dealing with the opportunities offered by digital technologies for creating more sustainable public spaces. Smaniotto edited two international books and has several publications in professional journals in Portuguese, English, German and Italian.

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• Fabio Maria Montagnino

  Managing Director

  Fabio Maria Montagnino, Managing Director at Consorzio ARCA, Italy. After graduating in physics he was...

  Fabio Maria Montagnino, Managing Director at Consorzio ARCA, Italy. After graduating in physics he was a fellow of University of Palermo and the Italian National Resarch Council in the field of experimental research and simulation of biophysical systems. From 1993 to 1995 he dealt with innovation in the industrial sector, participating as corporate manager in research projects and developing international markets. In 1999 he established one of the first incubators of innovative enterprises in Italy, in 2001 designed a multidisciplinary environment for innovation and technology transfer, which have been effectively initiated in in the University Campus of Palermo and entrusted to the ARCA Consortium, where he holds the position of member of the Board of ARCA since 2003 and Managing Director since 2011. He has been promoting a broad network of infrastructure for innovation ranging from the academic hub to a dedicated node for creativity and cultural ventures, to fab-labs, living labs and coworking spaces. He is coordinator of a large number of R&I and international cooperation activities, with a focus on sustainable development: among his interests the interaction between art, humanities, science and technology in the perspective of responsible innovation. Peer reviewer in international journals, he is author of more than 20 publications and three patents.

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• Georgios Artopoulos

  Associate Professor, Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center

  Georgios Artopoulos, Associate Professor, Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center, Cyprus Institute, works on...

  Georgios Artopoulos, Associate Professor, Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center, Cyprus Institute, works on immersive and performative spaces, on virtual environments, modelling and simulation for the study of built heritage and the creative exploration of historical narratives in the context of public open space. Georgios holds a Master of Philosophy and a PhD, University of Cambridge (UK) with a Doctoral Award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Previously he was employed by the Heriot-Watt University, UK, the University of Melbourne, the University of Cambridge and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Georgios has contributed in more than 12 International Research Programs and received the Best International Short Film award in Mestre Film Festival, Venice. His work was presented at La Biennale di Venezia, the Royal Institute of British Architects, London, the London Design Festival, Seoul Biennale of Architecture & Urbanism 2017, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, the ISEA 2006 and 2008, the British Council, Brussels, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, and in many art exhibitions. His work was published in more than 28 peer-reviewed journals and books of architecture and 35 International Conference proceedings and exhibition catalogues.

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