As I unwrapped my (albeit wonderful) kindle touch at Christmas and thought of the myriad of other wonderful technological gadgets friends had received, I wanted to take some time to think about how the way we use technology and the level that it integrates into our daily life is changing. As awesome new gadgets such as the Ipad mini (I am very jealous of anyone who received on) have shown us, even good new technology can be improved and made increasingly portable.
With many of my university friends overseas on big adventures I am amazed at how often they can call, text, email and of course update their Facebook with plenty of photos to ensure complete jealousy. Compared to a story I heard the other day where a friend was backpacking a few decades ago and to meet up with his friends had to wait at the same spot at 8 every morning and every night until his friends appeared (which took 3 days) - our ability to remain in constant contact is fairly breathtaking.
It also is something that needs to be increasingly incorporated into the design of our cities - if we can now take our Ipad or laptop and access wireless throughout the city why are there not more public places which allow us to do so comfortably and easily. Why should WI-FI access and the opportunity to work be limited to coffee shops and chains like McDonalds? Why can't attractive, WI-FI enabled office pods and meeting areas be available for use in the public realm alongside the BBQs and benches?
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| Urban Submarine design for a WIFI pod - Park Image via Newton Research and Explorations |
Not only would these pods allow us to change up our daily routine and spend more time out in the fresh air (especially in generally sunny climates such as Brisbanes) but they could also be designed to reflect the character of a city e.g. refurbished cable cars as WIFI pods in San Francisco. What do you think, is this the way we should be heading in the future or am I totally barking up the wrong tree?
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