Introduction
Internet of things (IoT) as a network of devices that are connected to each other by means of the Internet significantly affects the life of a modern person (Rowland, Goodman, Charlier, Light, & Lui, 2015). In a sense, its emergence has changed the people’s attitude towards searching, gathering, and perceiving information. Due to the fact that urban planning ultimately targets the experiences of urban dwellers, the internet of things and is vital to consider for a city designer.
Internet of Things in a Work of an Urban Planning Specialist
Practical applications of IoT are are plentiful. Sharing data, accessing them from multiple devices and the speed with which it can be done nowadays practically shapes the modern person’s understanding of comfort (Rowland et al., 2015). That is what modern people became used to. Since urban planner’s main task is to design the environment in a way that maximizes each person’s comfort without limiting the comfort of a society as a whole, the utilization of IoT in city solutions should be a new priority. As it was mentioned above, IoT changed the way people perceive information. Urban planner should adapt to those changes by designing the environment where information is present in way that can be easily accessible to people in a way they are accustomed to access it.
The simplest example of such design solutions is interactive city maps that are often located in transportation hubs. IoT has taught people to create, share, and otherwise interact with information rather than be passive observers. This fact partly explains why it can be hard for modern people to read the traditional maps and why they often resort to electronic ones on their devices. Having the knowledge of that, an urban planner has to acquire additional skills and build knowledge on modern solutions that strengthen the potential of people of acquiring, using, and sharing the information. Such skills encompass, for instance, increased attention to energy planning. Public places such as surface and underground transport stops given the increased need for charging devices can provide citizens with free USB charging devices powered by solar panels, such as they do in North Carolina (Davis, 2017).
Previously, there was no need for such public services as there was no demand for that and people that lived in the age of traditional computing did not feel the urge to stay online all the time. Now, items like Wi-Fi access in public places or even whole-city coverage solutions are added to the present agenda of an urban planner. Creation of a continuous space with internet access is becoming rather a necessity than just a handy addition. Therefore, the places we design seem to demand more emphasis on functionality and usability than on pure aesthetics.
Given all the above, my career path seems to be needing adjustments in terms of technical knowledge such as basics of electrical engineering that will enable me to understand how and where telecommunications are best placed. Additionally, as a professional I will need to stay alert for possible developments in popular mobile technologies to consider the possibilities of their use in my planning and design activities.
Conclusion
All in all, IoT has brought a major change to people’s attitudes and behaviors in cities. In modern times, mobile devices seem to be a dominating channel for acquiring information. These changes are to be processed and addressed by urban planning specialists in order to tailor the urban environment according to their needs. Given that, the knowledge of electrical engineering will become a valuable addition to my background.
References
Davis, C. (2017). NC state adds solar charging station at bus stop. Web.
Rowland, C., Goodman, E., Charlier, M., Light, A., & Lui, A. (2015). Designing connected products: UX for the consumer Internet of things. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.