Real World Markup Language

Chris has been flacking the idea of metadata specific to urban planning and related fields for a while now (and hey, if you go read that article from planning, ignore the lead -- I just re-read it and, well, what can I say except I was just a kid when I wrote it). So the basic notion is pretty cool: all the data that an architect, planner, contractor, builder, etc.

2 minute read

July 1, 2004, 4:30 PM PDT

By Anonymous


Chris has been flacking the idea of metadata specific to urban planning and related fields for a while now (and hey, if you go read that article from planning, ignore the lead -- I just re-read it and, well, what can I say except I was just a kid when I wrote it).



So the basic notion is pretty cool: all the data that an architect, planner, contractor, builder, etc. might run into or want about a building or a region would be tagged the same way. When our worker from the related professions taps into a tablet PC, or looks at a wall or a floor through augmented-reality goggles or whatever, he or she would get an x-ray vision look at what's behind that wall. Or be able to find out what the pipes were made out of, or how much juice the junction box can put out. Whatever.



But as I've embarked on the glorious journey of fixing up an old house, I've been thinking: the problem isn't necessarily with getting everyone onboard the same metadata standard (though that'd be good, too -- don't fire me, Chris). The problem is that the actual data might be old, wrong, or just plain suck. I mean, who do you think's going to be entering all that data and all those tags? Probably some outsource-oid on a continent 6,000 miles away from the actual building. You're going to have a very pretty of a picture of the crawlspace behind a wall, and the picture might not have anything to do with what's actually there.



Don't panic. I have a solution: Real World Markup Language.



Using some technology to be named later -- Radio Frequency ID tags, maybe, or machine-readable bar codes like UPCs -- every object in the world would be tagged with its own metadata at the source of its manufacture. Since this'd be a standard, all those objects would be compatible with each other for the reader. So your AR goggles would read 35 feet of copper cylinder about an inch in diameter as "plumbing" (I should be so lucky -- do you have any idea how much copper pipe costs?).



As RWML spreads, the entire built environment would turn into a kind of virtual Richard Scarry book, with everything labelled, if you're looking at it in the right way. Sheetrock or lathe-and-plaster? Diamond or quartz? Real or silicone-enhanced? Hairplug or toupee?



I hereby place the idea in the commons, for the public good. Go get 'em, you engineers!


portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

45 minutes ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

2 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press