Layered Realities, Night Walk for Edinburgh, Brutalist Tapestry, Symbiosia… all recent intriguing projects that involve the artistic exploration of our public spaces through the use of digital technologies and searching storytelling. Whether developing data-driven systems, utilising image and audio AR or pushing the boundaries of 5G infrastructure, arts, culture and technology are inseparable.

This article highlights a range of ways in which artists are employing technologies to foster a sense of place in beautiful, playful and engaging ways.

Last week there was an outcry when it was revealed that a facial recognition system was in operation in the public spaces of Kings Cross, London. The developers behind the deployment, Argent, were clearly out of step with pretty much everyone else – including the Mayor of London, Saddiq Khan,…

Over the past few months we learnt that Jamie’s Italian was closing, Carluccio’s was massively restructuring, LK Bennett was bought out of administration and so on. These huge shifts on the UK’s high streets continue apace and there are a number of factors that have combined to create the conditions…

The imperative for our environments to support our health and wellbeing is high on the agendas of policy and practice worldwide – not to forget the agendas of citizens. This article explores some ways that location-based digital technologies are being used to help create more livable urban spaces. As such, it shows that a digital placemaking approach is a key element in creating the types of places where we wish to live.

Vacant car parks, dwindling crowds, anchor stores closing their doors for good and replaced by cheap and not-so-cheerful discount stores. It’s a scene that has become all too familiar in shopping centres across the UK, and has fuelled a debate over a so-called retail apocalypse. As consumer behaviour becomes more influenced…

The concept of shared, culturally significant spaces is as old as time itself. The ancient Greeks had agora, the Romans had forums, and medieval cities had bustling squares for trading. Since then, the relationships between people and place has been rethought multiple times. Now, with the rise of technology as…