Downtown Harbour - Victoria, BC, Canada
FC-01x Future Cities (1st Run) - Exercise 1 : "Making the Invisible - Visible"
Uploaded on 2015-04-28 by hybridgibs
![Victoria, BC, Canada][1] Photo taken by Karl Gibson The image displays a multitude of visible information that is characteristic of a downtown area. Bus transit, taxi, personal automobiles, a delivery truck, a pedestrian crosswalk, widened sidewalks, traffic signs and markings and lighting are evident transportation modes and aspects in the picture. Also displayed are several monuments and landmarks, including the statue of Captain Cook on the right side of the picture and the British Columbia Legislature and Royal BC Museum buildings located on the right and left hand side of the image, respectively. Other aspects that are characteristic of the area include: traffic flow on right hand lanes; an overcast sky and a pedestrian with an umbrella – implying overcast and rainy weather; and several evergreen foliage, which is characteristic of western Canada. Invisible information that can be extracted from this image is the city’s tourism and cleanliness. The large tour bus, taxis, several pedestrian walking signs, large sidewalks and landmarks are indications that the urban space was planned to accommodate tourists, specifically pedestrian tourists. The cleanliness of the streets; multiple trash bins located in the near vicinity, and the manicured landscape of the area indicate the city’s priority in keeping the surroundings clean and orderly. This also implies higher than average taxes paid to hire cleaning services to maintain surroundings. Data and information on tourism can be used to create knowledge of the city’s visitors, which can then be used to plan, design and improve the area’s livability for the future. Data and information collected on the occupancy of sidewalks, traffic, customers of nearby businesses and attractions, through the busiest times of the day and year can help generate trends of stocks and flows of transportation and human occupancy in infrastructure. Transit can be modified to accommodate more potential passengers on peak periods and also by additions and maintenance of transportation infrastructure to reduce congestion and increase accessibility. More infrastructures can be built to accommodate popular visitor activities, open areas for events; seating, trash receptacles. Buildings and streetscapes can be rehabilitated and restored to attract more people to certain districts to increase city dynamics, increase overall accessibility and economic productivity. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14301801627137924.jpg