Report examines, compares living space with cyberspace

Rather than replacing the need for actual space in which to interact, online technology is evolving as a force that complements the places in which people work, study and socialize, according to "Digital Places: Building Our City of Bits," a new publication from the Urban Land Institute.

Written by Thomas Horan, a ULI academic member, the book explores the relationship between the virtual meeting space of the Internet and actual living space provided in physical locations.

Horan is the executive director of the Claremont Information and Technology Institute and an associate professor at Claremont Graduate University. He has been at the forefront of the integration of physical and electronic planning through national research studies, major real estate development projects and numerous publications.

"We are leaving the nascent era of cyberspace, where it existed as a separate, free-spirited force and moving toward an era marked by integrated physical environments, where the electronic aspects will be as central to our day-to-day activities in the 21st century as electricity was for most of the 20th century," Horan said.

Rather than become obsolete, physical places likely will function more as "portals" in which to enter cyberspace for purposes related directly to the physical location, Horan said. "While the virtual word of Web sites and chat rooms provides an intoxicating array of new experiences, it is not realistic to think we can disassociate ourselves from our physical environment," he added.

Horan examines the evolution of digital places as a continuum, with completely "unplugged" spaces at one end and "transformative" designs at the other. Transformative designs, while relatively new, are built with digital technology integrated into the layout, program and infrastructure.

The author offers five key principles for consideration in the design of successful digital places:

Designing for multiplicity, or the need for place design which allows people to perform day-to-day activities anytime, anywhere;

Designing with traditional place in mind, or designing digital places in a manner that respects the value of traditional places such as homes, libraries and schools;

Designing across architectures, which focuses on the synergistic relationship between electronic exchange (such as e-commerce) and physical exchange (such as bricks-and-mortar stores);

Designing for community, which stresses the opportunity to connect various civic networks electronically and physically; and

Designing in collaboration, which highlights the need to include a wide range of users in the creation of new high-tech environments.