Welcome to the University City Digital Placemaking Pilot

Developed by iNeighborhoods, Digital Placemaking is a powerful tool that helps University City residents and businesses to create more interesting, meaningful and safer destinations. However, for the purpose of this pilot, we are going to limit the extent of the discussion to the “Delmar Digital Roundabout” as an example.

As you know, many people pass through the roundabout every day and observe what is around them, and that’s about all. To give the roundabout more meaning, we have taken the roundabout to a new level and made it more interesting and interactive. In other words, a digital place! Imagine, if we can do that for the Delmar Roundabout, just imagine what we could do for our city, its businesses, residents, educators, and students.

Our goals for this pilot are:

CREATE awareness for the Digital Roundabout pilot and Digital Placemaking for University City.

CONNECT you live to the DEMO,

GATHER feedback from the pilot and determine next steps.

What is Digital Placemaking

One simple definition would be, “Digital Placemaking is a cool community platform for presence, innovation, and community safety”.

A bit more of a technical definition would be, “the Digital Placemaking platform augments University City culture, educators and businesses with location-specific digital services or experiences, to create more meaningful and safer destinations for all’.

What are some of the benefits?

Market Visibility

The Digital Placemaking platform will be available to University City residents, business, educators and first responders. This is a significant community benefit that will make University City a more desirable destination for students, residents and data-oriented businesses as well as entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative persons to live and work.

Community Safety

Digital Placemaking will also make University City a safer destination because of our streaming camera capability called “buddy cam”. For example, let’s say I am in a Delmar Loop restaurant and have finished my meal. I could then check my “digital place” and the adjacent parking lot(s) before I leave the restaurant.

Or, if I wanted to attend an event on the west end of Olive Street Road, or Heman Park for example, I could look at my “digital place” and see the parking lot, or the event for that matter, before I arrive. Very cool.

Education, Entrepreneurs, Tourism and Retail

Educational expeditions, or digital places could be utilized by students who look to become leaders in technology and social impact. Tourists, at a minimum, could enjoy a digital expedition of digital art and history along the streets of University City. Entrepreneurs and educators could utilize sensors and streaming video to develop new technologies and start new businesses for University City. Retail businesses could enjoy greater market visibility and community safety for their customers while lowering building operational costs.

Sensor Data

There are a wide variety of sensors that can be utilized, and some of them you will see in the demo. These include, but are not limited to, tracking sensors which can track vehicles, packages, deliveries and even pets. Sensors for home healthcare which monitor physical health and environmental safety. Sensors for building operations which include occupancy and anonymous people counters, oxygen and carbon monoxide detection, water leak detection and green energy monitoring. Weather sensors to monitor and report dangerous weather situations and their potential impact in real-time. Anonymous outdoor sensors which can monitor the number of mobile devices flowing across an intersection or through a neighborhood during special events.

Privacy

The public version of Digital Placemaking does not store video streams or sensor data. We also plan to cap public video streams at 15 seconds for additional privacy.

Digital Places are also available for private businesses or organizations, small or large, who have streaming or sensor data directly related to their educational, operational or retail business activities.

How Does it Work ?

Well, that is kind of a big topic, but let’s see if we and simplify that a bit.

At your home or businesses, you use broadband, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE to connect to apps and other data. We use something called the Internet of Things or IoT to collect data, such as tracking a vehicle or a pet dog for example, and we use something called 5G CBRS, or Citizens Broadband Radio Service to connect directly to private mobile phones for special services. The IoT network currently covers about %90 of University City and the 5G CBRS network covers about %68 of the University City Loop; the west Loop.

And the most important component, the Digital Placemaking platform integrates data, streaming video, IoT and CBRS, and other content and features to create more interesting and meaningful digital places, like the Delmar Digital Roundabout!

But no matter, this all works on your mobile device, tablet, or home computer today.

Questions

Please feel free to share your initial feedback and what is important to you as University City residents and businesses.

  1. What are some of the most important public streaming camera locations that could reflect University City, its history and culture. We have demonstrated this capability with the Digital Roundabout, what others come to mind?
  2. What are some of the most important community safety, or “buddy cam” locations that should be incorporated.
  3. What are some of the most important public vehicles that you would like to see on the tracker map.
  4. If you are a University City resident who has a beautiful spring garden, drop us a line.
  5. If your artwork or fashions are more than fabulous, send us a note.
  6. It would not be difficult to develop a layered set of very cool, fun and interesting digital experiences for Trolley riders that would increase ridership far beyond what the Trolley has attracted thus far. Should Bi-state be aware of this ?
  7. SEND your responses to ucitypilot@ineighborhoods.us
Next Steps

Once you have had a chance to view the demo, please respond to the questions and provide us with your confidential feedback. If you would like to discuss this more, please provide us with your contact information and a convenient time to reach you. After we review all the responses, we will post a set of next steps of which features will become available first, how to subscribe, pricing, installation, coding partners and more.

GO TO THE DEMO HERE  

Note: The flower bed sensors are located adjacent to the roundabout flower bed.