Widianto Utomo

I. Index

II. Introduction
III. The City
   a. The Society
    b. The Way People Move
IV. The Nomads
    a. Body Work
    b. Life
V. The State
VI. Epilogue

II. Introduction

Proliferation of digital technology, especially digital-wireless and broadband technology have change the way human life: their lifestyles, their relationship, their behavior, the way they works, their socio-culture and the way they communicate or interact with others. From those facts as starting point, this project takes Urban Nomads as the main topic (the topic was inspired from the way of Gypsies life, how they lives, socialize and built their own community).

Why urban nomads?
Urban nomads are a new society definition for urban society that has put bigger portion of mobility in their daily lives.
While the mobility term itself in this society means: they can work anywhere, anytime regardless the space and time frame limitation, as their space have integrated with themselves (both time and spatially) through integrated wearable mobile computer or communication enhancer. It will allow them to live, stay and move from one place to another place easier than before (using concept: move, plug, unplug and play), and can easily adaptable to the new society or space (social community and spatial boundaries).

This society then means how the definition, the impact and influence of urban nomads toward their own body, personality, life, behavior, lifestyle and then grow to the bigger community outside their body (family and friends relationship) to the local society (interaction) then toward the country where this community live and at the end to the global society. It is not only interpersonal relationship among urban nomads themselves but also in term of socio-culture, economics and spatial where they move, live and interact.

In socio-culture, how this community will interact between one and another, and how they will give a new definition to themselves as a social creature. How the culture will be reshaped as a result of their community mobility and un-defining space and time where they belong.

In term of economics, the circle of economics movement will go faster, micro and macro economy both in local and global context, as now they are only trafficking data (digital data transmission) instead real money for conducting business. For local economy for instance, the use of virtual money instead real money, as with the integrated devices on their body now they only require doing data exchange or data transfer instead the real physical exchange for any transaction (real or virtual transaction).

This data may contain personal data replacing function of passport or others ID do, medical record, crime record, educational record, or fund/wealth record, will be stored on a special device that integrated to their body. This device will enhance and become complement to the existing natural personal identifications: fingerprint, iris pattern or DNA.

The data that is stored on the special device that's integrated to their body will become a new part of the body (to form as whole) and the user lifestyle rather than just as additional helper devices. To accommodate the device to the body to become a part of the whole, it will use the body heat/body movement, blood pressure and solar cell to operate the device. And the reason to use internal human body energy are: to reduce the movement limitation, to give total freedom to move, plug/unplug and play anywhere- anytime capabilities and to reduce unnecessary weight of the battery that should be carried to operate the devices.

And in term of spatially, urban nomads can move from on place to another place easily without necessarily to built new personal space (including work space). The new personal space will enhance the existing natural space/personal bubble but not replacing. As when they move to a new place they will be immediately able to build their new space (in term of personal identity, they can plug and unplug the data from one place to another from public exchange control portable port and become a local within seconds). The space now also means unframed time; therefore they can control where they will move, life and work regardless space and time limitation. In this case, how urban nomads will redefine their urban landscape structure and its relationship with them.

Urban nomads means new definition for integration of spatiality (space where they life, work, play and interact with others), time (time frame where they life within), their relationship between their body and the outside world (the way they move, transporting from one place to another), their identities (personality) and their body to form a new lifestyle.

In conclusion, urban nomads definition is a new urban society where the integration of high technology, spatially (both time and space), mobility and independent lifestyle that has become a personality.

III. The City

Information and communication technology (ICT) that in the past years has rapidly develop and slowly will penetrate the whole system of human life organization and then at the end will reshape the urban system both in term of structural and spatially. It will be no longer just a wired city but as a city full of invisible bubble of information and communication wave.

This transition from wired city to a broadband city will redefine their urban landscape structure. It makes easier to build new fully digital smart building, as now they will use plug-unplug system for cabling system (electricity and communication) rather than make the whole new cabling system from the source to their building. The system will allow them to connect one building with another building, as each of the building stands as independent unit although in same way it dependent to another independent unit (independent also means the building self contains and able to give service for its own need: electricity, water, air distribution and control, and waste processing). Dependent means one building need another buildings, another public spaces and peoples to form the city as whole.

For better understanding, one building represent one chip of puzzle, and another building as another chip of puzzle and together with another chips: street, playground, public transport they will form this urban landscape. But each of these chips is not a definite piece; it could be removed and replaced with another chip but do not necessarily to rebuild the whole system. It might change their appearance as whole but does not change the entire system.

With this system, it makes possible one building can be accessed both vertically and horizontally. Vertically could be a direct access from underground station on the ground floor of the building to the street level or from underground level to the offices or directly to the helipad on the roof of the building. While horizontally means one building connected to another building via a bridge or connector on one or more floors. It will make easier for person moving from one building to another without necessarily go to the street level first.

It will also make possible to make the street level for pedestrian only or access for underground station, vice versa. The new city will have more open space for people gathering/plaza, more garden, and playground. New open spaces, also means more place to work freely everywhere regardless working as individual or as a group of people (networking), thank to the broadband communication system that cover up the whole city.

Although with more communication wave cover up the city, the city may become cleaner as the street level for transport system has moved to the underground transport system, both for mass or private transport. This urban landscape system means more sunshine to the street level of city, clear direct view to the sky, more trees that means better air quality and more organized view of the cityscape.

a. The Society

1. New city, new society
   
   New urban landscape system will redefine how people interact with others, how they will socialize, work and live. It will also reshape the existing culture, religion and tradition in harmony with a new era of human civilization.
   
   More urban open space will give more opportunity for people gathering, meeting or collaborating with others. The sense of interconnection between one with another will be greater than before. At the same time the new society will increase the work efficiency and quality, as less pressure from the office workload but increasing work quality. People will regard work as entertainment and pleasure rather than thing that must to be done, as now there is an intertwining definition between working and entertaining. Working could be meant entertainment and vice versa.
   
   The new city landscape and the integrated digital technology (including Information and Communication Technology) embedded on its essence, will make easier for human connection and interaction with others, virtually or in real time. They can work and conduct any business meeting anytime and anywhere whenever they do like. They can travel and live wherever they want to colonize permanently or temporarily. Thank to the integrated wearable digital enhancer to their body as new integrated part of their body (to form part as whole rather than intruder). With the data stored on their new body part, they can easily move and travel to one place to another, and become a local within seconds. The data stored on their body will replace the existing ID card (including driving license), passport, health history and bankcard, but it will enhance and become complement to the existing natural personal identifications: fingerprints, iris pattern, and DNA. The device will make possible for them to conduct any secured data exchange or transfer through a point of personal assistance spread over the city or any place where any human activities happened and conducted (move, plug, unplug and play system). The exchange point could be as public exchange control portable wireless port, it is multi function port for any data transfer (as passport/ID, bankcard/ATM, or as health card) and the port could be located on the street, country borders, public-buildings, hospital and airport both as mobile or fix station.
   
   At the end, the city will become a large digital data exchange or communication center or invisible enclosure for anyone regardless where they located (in the building, on the street, in the station for any activities may they do). The urban landscape then will become an integrated part of human lifestyle (personality), no longer just a place for human activities, but could become another bubble that cover up the personal bubble, that more public and more complex as this bubble will intentionally to engage and more have friction with another bubbles. Therefore the new society will become a society that very active, mobile, independent and at the same time has less direct interpersonal engagement.
2. Socio-culture, religion and tradition
   
   Although with the new city system will make human being able to move faster, work more efficient, more independent, and make possible to interact with other more efficient and easier, at the same it will make them more separated from others as social creature.
   
   New city, and new technology embedded with the city/urban landscape although at the same time it will make people can live better and comfort, in addition it will also reduce their natural essence as social creature, as it will make them more individualistic, more independent in same way and more separated with others. As rather meeting in person they may be prefer to conduct video-teleconference (including multi media interaction teleconference), real time virtual reality (including holographic 3D) meeting and video email communication rather than the real meeting, therefore they can save their for travel time and have more time for their own (more privacy).
   
   Degradation of socio-culture, religion and tradition from the past will become apparent and slowly become disappear, and then new culture, and belief will be born while the tradition may be completely abandoned. New culture of this new society means we take digital live as a new lifestyle that not separate able to our daily life. It will take any digital enhancer devices as partner, a device for being self rather than just a gadget.
   
   Gradually face-to-face meeting may become obsolete; it means real human interaction definition from the past may no longer relevance. As now the gadget position has replaced or more important than inter human relationship, as they do need this device to conduct any inter human relationship, although they may still do direct human contact but may have less hours than in the past.
   
   Therefore new culture is a culture where digital age will make human more independent as individual, but make them inhuman in term as social creature. Could be family value will no longer important, as more people prefer to life by themselves, and might choose cloning methods to have their own heredity. As they prefer to have time for their own, and might prefer life partner rather than marriage bounding. They may put self- satisfaction and entertainment as the first priority rather than a group one.
   
   At the same time the new society will make everyone have one universal culture, and one universal language.
   
   While religion will become universal belief, no single specific religion will exist, all existing religion may re-emerge and then become a single universal belief. Belief of being a human, being self as independence human, being God creature, being a universal human above all background differences, all races and origins. This will make everyone equal in every aspect of life, and this will make them together and interact as independence individuals that in same way dependent to each others. Dependence as people still do need to have others to full fill their essential need as social creature, although the proportion already degraded.
3. New Economy
   
   Being digital society also means emerging new economy in the community. As economics play very important role in the every aspect of human being life, therefore with the transformation from being real to being digital, like or dislike people will transform from everything that real to digital (as data, that is able to carry everywhere they go without afraid of being lose or being left at home). Therefore now they will no longer use hard cash, but instead digital money to conduct any transaction.
   
   They can do banking or shopping via their smart integrated gadget that embedded to their body (plug, unplug and play system). As a result of this we may no longer need real bank, as we can open our account via internet connection at home/anywhere and load the money/data online into our gadget embedded on our body via Blue Tooth system, USB connection or infrared data transfer and vice versa, while the bank could be just database and data exchange super computer processing center. Their function now just as a central of data exchange from one to another, while the bank central or technician will look after the bank system only to avoid any data exchange hacker or fault, as each fund stored can be accessed by the owner only.
   
   With this system, it is possible all hard cash from each countries will become universal money, therefore they do not longer require exchange rate for money transfer or transaction from one with another countries. And with the new money every transaction or transfer from one to another person account, regardless the time and space can be conducted within seconds via personal portable digital wallet exchange. This new economic system also could lead to the end bank interest rate system, as now the government or people can make profit from the gain of stock exchange transaction only. While tax collection could be directly integrated to any transaction conducted rather than personal/wealth tax collection. Personal tax collection could be no longer effective considering high rate of human mobility from one place to another.
   
   The new economic then will be able to reshape the new urban landscape from security and freedom of move in the city point of view. Because no real money, no one will try to get others property as the data on the integrated smart gadget will no longer have function and have value after removed from the original user.
   
   Therefore as the new city free from any street violence, it will make the city as a place where people want to be, together with other or live (in term of the city belong to the human being, and they can use it as long as they want, anytime and without any concern of their safety and comfort). This will make the city more have open space and free space to use for individual or group of people. The city could become their alternative place for work, and entertainment, thank to the integrated information and communication technology wave that cover up the whole city in form of wave bubble to help any quick wireless data transfer or exchange from one place to another place.

b. The Way People Move

The transport system will follow up with the new urban landscape and its system change. It will become more efficient, fast, cheap and less energy waste. There are two types of transport:

1. Public transport
   
   This including underground mass public transport, train and bus that connected city and its suburbs. Because of the urban landscape change could be only mass public transport that available from the city to another transport interchange points on the city border. It means only after reaching that points, another means of transport may become available (train, bus, or rapid train for inter-cities).
2. Semi public transport
   
   This type of transport will replace the function of private car. Mobile Cell (modular car, using concept rent and go) for example is a type of this type of transport (this similar type of car currently already available). Mobile Cell is available for one, two and four seat passengers. It is powered by either compact hydrogen or chargeable battery. It is available on any transport center point where people can use the car and then return it for use of others and pay the service being used via digital payment system. It is personal transport, means you can use it as long as you need, and return to any point when you finish, it is public because anyone can have access to the service.
   
   People from remote area can use the Mobile Cell to reach the nearest public transport interchange if that the solely means of transport from their area. Each Mobile Cells will then gathered on the special carriage that will bring them together to the city, the Mobile Cell will also function as the passenger cell. During the journey, the carriage will also become a charging unit for the Mobile Cell (using the energy produce from the friction of the wheel and the path).
   
   Although they can leave the Mobile Cell on its stations and then using normal mass public transport if they wish too. The Mobile Cell station could be on the street level (the suburb area), underground (both independent or integrated with the modular carriage rail transport), or inside the building. Therefore Mobile Cell user can use it from underground directly to their office level, using vertical transportation for Mobile Cell.
   
   With the new urban landscape and new transport system, will make the city will be more organized, efficient and safer in term of mobility (for anyone regardless who, and how they are), it also will have greater accessibility to and from any points in the city (regardless where you come from and where you want to go) and at the end will have better quality of air.

IV. The Nomads

The nomad is an individual that lives as urban nomads. Urban nomads are a new society definition for urban society that has put bigger portion of mobility in their daily lives.
While the mobility term itself in this society means: they can work anywhere, anytime regardless the space and time frame limitation, as their space have integrated with themselves (both time and spatially) through integrated wearable mobile computer or communication enhancer. Enhancer in this case means the device will become a lifestyle (integrated lifestyle with the user) rather than additional device that becomes compulsory in order being a modern being in the digital world.

This integrated body gadget (will become new body part and to form the whole as new being) will allow them to stay, live and move from one place to another place easier and easier than before (using concept: move, plug, unplug and play), and can be easily adaptable to the new society or space (social community and spatial boundaries).

Move, means they can move as far as they want and as fast as they want. It means they can travel from one place to another, from one country to another country as easy as they passing a door at home.

Plug means they can build their new space/domain when they go to another new place, and will become a local within seconds, thank to the integrated body gadget that embedded on their body that makes this quick transition happened.

Unplug means they can update or erase the data at anytime when no longer desirable and play, means after then becomes local in the new place/area they can then do and live as local.

a. Body Work

1. Clothing
   
   Urban nomads mean they will spend most of their time for travel or for their activities. While at the same time they will do many tasks at the same time, either for pleasure or for work. Therefore they will require clothing systems that do understand who, what and how they are.
   
   The clothing could have fiber optic or any digital cabling for any digital information and communication need (integrated into the fabric or could be as the fabric itself).
   
   The clothing could become another body enhancer for any easy access for instance for downloading digital music (there is similar sample for this product research by Philips Design, the Netherlands on their Vision of the Future project), digital interactive multi media display or could be as automatic body protection from cold or hot weather (the clothing will be capable to automatically adjust the interior surface temperature that suitable to the user body and relative to the outer weather temperature, to maintain comfort no matter where and in what season they are).
   
   Another option could be as a transformable embedded function, means we can change the clothing color according to our mood, and could be write-able on same parts of the clothing for sending, writing or receiving same short messages (this option will become an integrated part of the clothing both for its function and as a style).
2. Lifestyle
   
   Urban nomads will be easily adaptable to any place or space they want to be. They will spend most of their lives from one place to another, therefore the place they live or will live and their body must be easily for any quick transition or changes that may occur.
   
   Therefore they may stay in very smart pod for living; this pod could be used by him/her and then can be reused by others (using rent and go system). The pod will accommodate all need of the occupy may have, for instance the owner can have fast wireless/broadband internet access/connection from any points of the pod interior, control the pod security via internet/any information and communication data exchange devices from anywhere he/she is.
   
   The pod can be programmed according to the user personality, for instance they want to change the color or create new atmosphere of the room, they can do electronically.
   
   Because of the user mobility, the pod must be easy to maintain but still very comfort to be inside, as the user will spend most of their time at this pod for any activities (working, resting and entertaining) if they do not in the move. Easy to maintain can be meant smart bathroom that can clean and dry up automatically after used, or bedroom that will be stored and automatically clean up after used in order to give more space and give more freedom to the user.
   
   This pod will become smart integrated part of the city as whole therefore no matter where they are the nomads can be easily adaptable to the entire system (while in the unit or while in the city).

b. Life

The urban nomads will spend most of their time to travel from one place to another places, therefore family life could be no longer as a main focus. They will spend more time for their own satisfaction and goal. They may prefer to have human cloning for having their offspring rather than from marriages.

Because they will very independence in many aspect of life, they may prefer to do any activities by themselves rather than with a group of people. Therefore this society will have more time for virtual inter-human interaction rather than the real one. Being them self will make them very individualist that have less sensitivity towards others.

Urban nomad may be an individual that has very large network with others in term of information or communication engagement, but less emotionally engagement as a human being.

V. The State

With the changing of the urban landscape system, community within that landscape and the influence of the information and communication technology, like or not it will also make a shift toward the government, the government system and at the end at the model of the state.

Could be the state now just a center of the data processing and on the supervision of the board selected by the community. The state could be just a symbol of the territory not as a sovereign country. It will become a small independent part of a universal world.

Each nomad will become a part of the smaller community/country and at the same time they also become part of the universal world.

VI. Epilogue

In conclusion, urban nomad is a new urban community that has put mobility, and digital information and communication technology as integrated part of their daily life and lifestyle.

This new social community definition will reshape and redefine how the urban landscape structure and pattern in the connection with the information and communication technology, as a place where a collective of people together, interact and engage. A place where there is very close connection and interaction between the spatiality and the personality, and at the same time a place where the technology has engage and intertwine within their relationship.

Urban nomads has shift the distinct differences between urban landscape, and personal landscape (home) to more absurd relationship, as now with the technology especially with the information and communication technology and its digital community, urban landscape has become more intimate and integrated part with the personal landscape and the mobility of the people (urban nomads), vice versa.