A flock of sparrows in the city of Ghent: a multidisciplinary case study

Abstract

This article elaborates on the deployment of multipurpose, aesthetic smart objects, called ‘The Sparrows’ in the city of Ghent (Belgium, Europe). The goals of the integration of the sparrows in the city were two-fold (1) augmenting the social engagement of citizens using a playful aesthetic smart artifact, and (2) exploring the ambient interaction zones with smart artifacts in a city context. In this article we present the case study carried out on the integration of the smart artifacts in the city and we describe the experiences of the involved citizens with the sparrows and the embedded ambient interactions