Niel's & Floraine's post- Amandeep

As Neil mentioned, I also think Floraine’s blog entries have been very insightful, and have helped me understand mobility from another perspective. She mentioned the transfer from the physical world to a more digital world which I think is the way we’re heading. Here’s a great video I found on one of the other blogs about gaming that shows human design development:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZM4_2cuZwA

Niel also picked up on a lot of good points, as well as how banks are trying to reduce staff to so that more can be done online. This got me thinking- What will happen to the more physical jobs, will they be replaced by more virtual/ computer jobs?

When I think of a physical job , the bus comes to mind, as it’s a very old fashioned way of travel which may in the future be replaced. We as a society are striving towards a more efficient, faster and cheaper transport; if you look at canals they are not used as a method of transport anymore, but more of a social place.

The poster shows how the council are advertising the canal, as a place to socialise, look how much it’s changed from its original purpose.

This may mean that our transport systems we know of today (i.e. buses, trains), may become obsolete and replaced with newer technology that is more efficient. Does this mean that jobs linked to physical travel will reduce (e.g. Buses becoming obsolete and replaced with newer technology)? But then does this mean we may have an increase in virtual jobs (e.g. computing, programming etc.)? I believe the end of this digital revolution is limitless...

Social Mobility/Virtual Mobility

"The intensity and the expansion of the mobility depends of the capacity of technical systems to satisfied them"
Wikipedia about mobility

My point about mobility is that it’s a social notion, because when you move, like the electron around an atom, you create interactions, meetings, energy. It can be a virtual or a physical encounter. Anyways, if nothing moves, there are no interactions, no exchanges. Indeed, travelling is one of the best ways to socialize, change the mind and have new experiences.
But I am interested by virtual mobility, for I think it’s fairer. Physical travelling is most of the time expensive, everybody can’t access to it. On the contrary, virtual travelling is cheap and one can go wherever one wants. Everybody can access information, communicate all over the world, to be open-minded and be aware of what happens in the world. Internet offers a new form of public space which everybody can access, gives opinions and debate.

The new media like internet bring a new vision of mobility. The improvements of different systems allows to move physically faster and farer. But the revolution of the informatics networks offers mobility all over the world quickly without physical movement. The distribution of information in real time offers a new conception of the world. The world is shrinking and ended we knows every part of it, there is nothing to discover anymore. It gives also a new vision of time and distances. It’s easy to travel by virtual means. As a consequence physical mobility that improved to be faster seems now slow and long.

But we can’t say that physical and virtual mobility are equal. In the reality the movement is a physical experience, the body can feel it, it is involved in the movement. It can be in architecture or in transportations. These experience needs to use senses, to live physical meetings, interactions that can be felt as a danger. In opposition the virtual mobility is a movement by collecting information, readings, pictures, films and virtual interactions are made by online games, social network. The body is not involved that’s why it offers feeling of safety. It is possible to hide, to choose interactions.

For my part there are two reasons of the success of the virtual mobility.
First, it offers fair accessibility, so lot of people can use it. Everybody can access information, because it’s cheap. It also allows to move far, fast and to be in different place in the same time. As I already said it shrinks the world, one can speak to someone very far as he is just close by. Internet reduces the world and the distances. It allows meeting people, share, and create a network all over the world. In opposition of physical mobility, where the body is involved in a movement, a process, virtual movement can be stopped when you choose to stop it.
I think the second reason of the success is that virtual mobility balances physical complexes and social frustrations. It reduces physical contact, direct interactions leading to safety feeling. There is the possibility to hide, be someone else or find a new world where people are not frustrated like in second life or in videogames. These are others world to be involved, and create social contact. Internet is also a tool for self promotion more efficient than others in a bigger scale.

My point is that real and virtual world are connected one has consequences on the other. But I think there is two kind of mobility, the real one with body involvement, a process to go to place to place where the movement is an experience. The second one doesn’t involve senses but the brain to collect information. This is a new time of travelling, instantaneous and wider, where people can be in different place in the same time. But I think internet is a transfer of the real world in the virtual world, you can find every services of the real world and more. By new scale of time and distances it creates a new geography of the world, because it’s an infinite space not restricted by physical rules. So in a period we can see the frontier of the real world, we can travel in an unlimited virtual space.

World of warcraft

I would like to give an example of how the virtual mobility is wide and how it can change the vision of the real world. Before I came in Birmingham I made some research to know how was the city, so I went on internet and I found pictures about Birmingham. But I used Google earth and saw the city in 3D, I saw the city in its global nature, of course I didn’t felt the atmosphere of the city, but with street view I actually was in the city. When I came in Birmingham I didn’t discovered the city but I recognized it, particularly places like the bullring, the symphony hall or the Institute of Art and Design. In a way I came in Birmingham long time before my physical presence in the city.

My project is to show how there is two scale of mobility, represented two spheres, the little one is the real world with physical connection and another sphere around much bigger is the virtual world, much connected than the real world and continuing to extend. Strings will represent connections (social, business, culture…)

I don’t know if it’s a good idea but with some explanations, my point will be clear. These are my references, the friend wheel of facebook and other social map and the real world with physical end.

How social/ physical/ virtual link together- Amandeep

Hey- everyone! Humera I love the tram stop! It creates a sense of social space within a small area, increasing the people flow; even the stations create the idea of motion. Not sure if I like the bike, looks a bit too retro to me, and can't see anyone using it in the future!

Referring back to my last post about how modernisation maybe linked to mobility; I have interpreted Marx’s view as time being an indicator of how we have grown as a society and how the world has become more accessible and mobile- The idea of the word ‘Modern’ has never been interpreted the same.

I thought the best way to understand this was by looking at my own life; the above diagram is my representation of how mobility has affected/ changed over my lifetime. I have highlighted key points in my life (through a time line), that have increased my mobility within society.

The basic points I can pick out from it are that the virtual and physical aspects of mobility act as supports to the social factor. They all work simultaneously, and I wouldn’t be able to function properly if one was removed. As I have become older and more socially active, my virtual and physical mobility are automatically increased. I can also see that my virtual mobility is more active than my physical mobility, as I am more likely to contact someone via email/ phone rather than visit them in person.

I notice that education is a key backbone from where many of my social connections derive, as we do spend a lot of our youth studying. I can also see my virtual connections are mainly to local friends and friends.

While travelling, I can see a mixed set of emotions, especially when travelling to a new place, or a rarely used transport. It is here, in these transient places, where De Botton says we best encounter our true selves. It is these places where we feel that we can isolate ourselves into a place of comfort.

Maybe in the future surrounding will change according to our movement, or lack of it. Maybe our physical mobility will be replaced by more virtual movement as it is easier, faster and cheaper? Maybe our physical transport will get faster, more types of transport, but will we travel less often? Will there be any need to go to work, will we be working from home?

Hey all!

After watching a video from mikes blog about mobility in 80 years, it made me think about where architecture will be in that same era! It made me think about how our lives will change... most of us ofcourse will probably be dead by the time that 80 years has come, so i did

some research on future architecture within the next 30-40 years, and its amazing to see how our lives will evolve, wheather we live in a house a flat, a canal boat, and so on.

Environmental- Vincent callebaut and his concept of the Lily pad,

“ as a solution to the alarming problem of global warming creating an ecotectural marvel that will serve as a luxurious future retreat for 50,00

0 inhabitants seeking refuge from rising waters. I believe the world will be desperately seeking shelter from the devastations of climate change, the auto- sufficient amphibious city will serve as a luxurious solution.too bad that right we are close to 7 billion people and this luxurious future retreat is just for 50,000 inhabitants”

“i call this project “Lilypad“, but this ecotectural marvel is also called as “Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugees”. The whole structure is covered in green walls and roofs, the top portion covered in grasses with the inner portion featuring a palm oasis, and the under portion serving as a bed for natural sea planktons and oceanic plants. Finally if you were already planning to reserve a place to this luxurious future retreat stay calm, i hope that “Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugees” will make the transition from design to reality around the year 2100”

The Venus Project: Working Toward Sustainable Global Civilization

In order to survive global warming, the growing human population and other challenges in the upcoming centuries, some believe that we must start from scratch with a new model of human civilization that directs our technology and resources toward the positive, for the maximum benefit of the people and the planet. The Venus Project is a vision for a brand new world civilization and redesign of our entire culture. Circular cities with built-in farms and public transit, along with sea cities that can accommodate millions, are just part of this complex and visionary idea to take us “beyond politics, poverty and war”.

Dystopian Farming in Manhattan

Resembling the nest of an insect, the Dystopian Farming project by Eric Vergne combines farms, worker housing and market places, mixing politically opposing classes – farmers and urban consumers. The idea is to reject the romanticizing of food projection and embrace genetic engineering, airoponic watering and nutrient technologies in a fully man-controlled environment in order to meet Manhattan’s food production needs.

Initial thoughts- Aman

Hi guys- I just thought I’d start with my interpretation of mobility which is mostly based on personal experience and what I’ve read.

Mobility= Freedom of movement /communication= happiness!!

This statement comes from my understanding of reading Hertzberger and De Botton; this means that our society is subconsciously happier due to our freedom of ‘movement’. We are happier in places that have been created to be more welcoming and spacious. Over time we have, as a society, become more virtually, physically and politically mobile which has lead to being more socially mobile.

This means that we would be very different if it were not for our ability to travel. What I discussed on the previous blog was that our mobility as a society has been shaped and designed so that we communicate in a certain way. Our social behaviour is affected by the environment that we are occupying. Think about it- we act and behave differently at home as we do at university. At home we are comfortable and relaxed, whereas as university we are focussed and attentive. As we move around the city, there are roads that lead us in certain way forcing us to travel in that direction (e.g. bus/ train routes/ the pavement we walk on). Spaces are adapted according to population and culture. Our mobility is also determined by the built environment which affects the way in which we behave within that area.

If you think about our city is one complex network of bus/ train/ street routes interconnecting and overlapping, linking us all to each other horizontally (maybe vertically I future?).

The virtual society is much more free as we can communicate with any one at any time, and in any way we like. Google earth provides a prime example where we can travel to anywhere across the world with a click of a button. We can experience the place without even being there.

I thought the film ‘The Matrix’ shows our virtual mobility well, as it shows how the world we know is created virtually. Similarly I believe our society is heading this way, I mean in terms of how everything we do and use will become virtual. Our communication is becoming more virtual and I think that the limits seem endless.

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=wireless+festival+2009&emb=0&aq=0&oq=wireless#q=view+satellite+signals&emb=0

The above video shows how NASA uses physical mobility to translate it into virtual messages sent back to base as photos and data. The video also shows how we have developed, from not understanding our planet to the knowledge we have now.

Sorry for rambling on, look forward to reading your posts...=)