Nate Berg muses over the shifting boundary between public and private, as technology follows us from the Internet into the physical world.
Berg summarizes the discussion that unfolds in the latest installment in a series on the computer's impact on architecture and urbanism being published by the Architectural League of New York. In Modulated Cities: Networked Spaces, Reconstituted Subjects, Helen Nissenbaum, New York University Professor of Media, Culture and Communication and Computer Science, and Kazys Varnelis, of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, trade essays on "the challenges raised by technologies in the urban realm that feed off the information we share on the internet."
On the Internet, we often willingly trade our personal information for the free content and tools that such a tradeoff makes possible. However, we are just beginning to realize the evolving relationship between personal privacy and an increasingly networked physical environment.
"Instead of sustaining the freedoms of physical space online, Nissenbaum writes, we are allowing the way we disregard privacy on the web to follow us into the physical world through RFID tracking, GPS devices, location tracking technologies, crowd-sourced identification and other technologies."
"Both Nissenbaum and Varnelis note that in the physical world, these technologies aren't always under our control, nor are there privacy policies we can choose to accept or reject."
FULL STORY: How the Internet Redefined Urban Space

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.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie