Brown Bag Lunch Seminar - Pandemic Urban Digitalisation & Sanitation

Abstract:

The design of urban sanitation infrastructures constitutes a time-honoured architectural tradition, dating to ancient times while continuing to evolve in the contemporary era. Urban monitoring through wastewater testing for example, has been widely employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit raising questions concerning the privacy of personal data. My research contemplates the socio-spatial implications of digital transformations for enhancing public well-being within existing Sustainable Smart Cities. This presentation addresses the question: to what extent does the digitalisation of sanitation infrastructures shape public user interactivity and the respective civic rights to privacy within urban settings? The burgeoning discourse arising from the intersection of Human-Building Interaction (HBI) with architecture queries the ethical implications of spatiotemporally immersive urban scenarios and spaces, and can inform human-centred design strategies. Ensuring equitable access to essential public urban sanitation facilities and infrastructures is a core human right.

Urban Pandemic Digitalisation & Water Infrastructures presentation 2021-12-08 (pdf 4.5 MB)