The "Internet of Things" Tracks You from the Screen to the Sidewalk

Nate Berg muses over the shifting boundary between public and private, as technology follows us from the Internet into the physical world.

1 minute read

May 4, 2012, 6:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


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."

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

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

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 16, 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

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.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight