Interfacing Urban Intelligence By Shannon Mattern

Interfacing the Interface As cities evolve, the way that citizens interact with them through interfaces evolves as well. The modern smart city usually involves incredibly complex technological interfaces that provide citizens with constant information about their surroundings in real time. In her journal titled “Interfacing Urban Intelligence,” Shannon Mattern discusses these interfaces and the image they present about the values of the city its citizens. She argues that since the citizens themselves are not well integrated with these interfaces and have little control over the way that it is presented, the interfaces do not accurately reflect their values and culture as they should. The journal provides a stated methodology by which an interface …show more content…
While this journal and rubric included in it focus more on the interface as the connection between a citizen and the operating system of the citizen’s environment, more generally an interface could be considered the point where two systems interact. Mattern even states that the rubric was intended to be applied to interfaces in “the humanities and social sciences” and not just technology (8). In the case of this article, the network of people reading the piece comprise one system. The other system would be the theoretical, complex ideas about what an interface should accomplish that the author has. Therefore, the article acts as an interface between the readers and the author’s ideas, meaning that it can be judged according to the rubric provided in the …show more content…
Admittedly, here is where Mattern’s journal fails to meet her expectations. The journal can only really be interacted with by the reader in one sense: it can be read. There is no aspect of touch, sound, or movement integrated into the interface to allow readers to interact with it unless perhaps the device on which a reader is perusing the journal happens to have a tough screen that allows them to scroll with a flick of their finger. However, the inclusion of many visuals throughout the piece from outside sources does provide another aspect of the interface’s presentation that readers can interact with, perhaps helping visual learners understand some of the concepts discussed more readily. While this deviation from her criteria could be considered a failure on Mattern’s part, she addresses the fact that the creation of a perfect interface is not feasible in her methodology. Instead of perfection, Mattern strives for “informatics information” or constant innovation in the field of interfaces (15). As an interface continuously collects data to present updated information to its users at all times, interface developers must continuously reevaluate the interface and how it can be updated. The journal’s interface is limited by its form in that it cannot provide many modalities of interaction with the