LSE - Hybrid Cities

The Ove Arup Foundation has announced support for collaboration on a hybrid cities pilot project and to provide the feedback on the possibility of a full project.

The focus will be on the changing interrelationship between physical and digital spaces in cities and how this evolving interdependence informs the future trajectory of urban development.  

At the most fundamental level, hybridity simply refers to a combination or mixture. Beyond this broad meaning, the term has recently been popularised to specifically describe overlaps between and blending of physical and digital space (on-site and on-line). In this context, arguably the most common reference is the hybrid meeting, combining in-person and remote, conference-call enabled participation. Increasingly, digital connectivity not only leads to hybridity as part of meetings but for most activities and spaces.  The explosion of this type of hybridity, the mixture of physical and digital space, will inevitably reshape urban environments and is likely to lead to the establishment of fully hybrid cities.

The research carried out as part of this pilot project will involve a literature review, related projects and initiatives review, seeking direct opportunities for related educational material and other material.

The main output of this project is the publication of a proposal which will include two workshops and one public event that will elaborate a full, multi-year Hybrid Cities Programme.

This seven-month exploratory project main objective is to establish a comprehensive proposal for an ambitious and innovative multi-year hybrid cities research programme.