Digital intervention in the city: a conceptual framework for digital placemaking

From the early 2000s onwards, the emergence of digital technology and social media has motived to a questioning of the value of public space, as the relevance of physical places is eroded in the digital age. In recent years, the development of concepts such as media architecture, digital placemaking and the playable city has reignited interest in physical places and opened a discussion about the future, harmonious symbiosis amid the public space and virtual space. Plenty of digital placemaking interventions in public spaces proves how digital interventions can have significant potential for future urban design. Currently, literature on placemaking and human-computer interaction (HCI) showcases the need for a new interdisciplinary approach to evaluate how digital and mobile technologies can be used to enhance the sense of place in a locale. This paper proposes a theoretical framework to investigate digital placemaking, supporting the review of basic attributes of public spaces and the potential of mobile technologies in augmenting places. Further, it reveals how digital placemaking provides an opportunity to generate tension and meaning.