Winter is coming
Johanna Ylipulli, Anna Luusua, Hannu Kukka, Timo Ojala · 2014
We propose a novel way to approach the research and design of urban ICT, namely, climate sensitive urban computing. This approach considers the climatic patterns, weather conditions and people's adaptations to them on the level of everyday practices. Our theoretical and methodological foundations lay in the fields of cultural anthropology, architecture, and HCI. First, we present a multidisciplinary discussion of prior works relating to technology, weather and climate conditions. Secondly, through two empirical, mostly qualitative data sets, we demonstrate the vast impact weather and climate have on young adults' ICT use at our research site located in Northern Finland. Thirdly, based on the theoretical discussion and findings from the real-world studies, we argue that climate sensitive thinking should be part of the design of urban ICT, and outline some central design challenges.