Designing the City of People 4.0 by Dario Costi

Author:Dario Costi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030761004
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

3.2 From the Conflict “Big Versus Small” to the Dialectic Between Activity and Interactivity

SERVE

Fig. 3.2A. Majoli, Syracuse. March 15, 2020. Piazza Santa Lucia.

© Photo: Alex Majoli/Magnum

15.04.2020_I wait patiently in line outside the local butcher’s. A few yards away some women are discussing the pandemic curve in front of the launderette, making the wait even longer. I realise that I have not replied to the shopping group’s email in time and I will have to wait until next week. Just as well Valentino from the organic market brought me the meat from his farm in Bore just yesterday. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow approaching from behind. I turn around suddenly, prepared for the worst by the general climate of fear caused by waiting for the peak. A gorgeous blonde ice cream seller smiles at me from behind her mask. Her name is Cecilia. She crossed the street to tell me that if I want, they can deliver ice cream to houses throughout the city. A phone call is all it takes. I thank her for the information and I ask for some immediately—better not put it off and risk forgetting this too. We could really do with something sweet. But in a moment. Right now, I’ve got to go inside. I can’t lose my place in the queue. Of course. No problem. She keeps an eye on me from a distance and, as soon as I come out, she brings over the promised kilo of vanilla, to make sure it wouldn’t melt during the wait or, worse still, to make sure I wouldn’t go home without it.

As we know, innovative technologies have made huge advances that are increasingly accessible in many areas and their application could have a truly significant impact on people’s lives. If we think about it, the potential of digital technology has been apparent in many fields for quite a while. Many local communities were not ready for it, at least until a few months ago. Today everything has changed. The health emergency has been an extraordinary digital trampoline and a powerful training ground for everyone in getting to grips with remote technology. In the space of a few weeks, many of us have gained new abilities and confidence with tools previously not so familiar to everyone. Nearly everyone has become capable of managing a new way of working and social interaction. In fact, we all reacted to being deprived of personal relationships by seizing the new virtual opportunities and the nostalgia for togetherness was matched by the discovery of new ways to communicate remotely.

The memory of physical interaction combined with the necessity for distance created a strange feeling of emotional compensation. Let’s think about that for a moment. If we learn a lesson from these two parallel and linked conditions, we can reinvest the positive effects of their synergy into the city of the future. We have all missed the shared work of the past and the contagious enthusiasm of working side by side.

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