Smart landscape for a "smart city"

Gushchin Aleksandr Nikolaevich ORCID: 0000-0002-3466-4038 PhD in Physics and Mathematics Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts Karl Liebknecht str., 23, Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg, 620075, Russia alexanderNG@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Divakova Marina Nikolaevna PhD in Architecture Professor of the Department of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture. Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Ural State University of Architecture and Art named after N.S.Alferov" 620027, Russia, Sverdlovskaya oblast', g. Ekaterinburg, ul. Sverdlova, 58-29 fpk-d@yandex.ru

Introduction

The concept of a smart city was a response to the increasing role of IT technologies in the life of modern society. In the interpretation of the concept of "smart city", two approaches can be distinguished. The first of them is technocratic (systemic). Representatives of this approach consider the "smart city" as a system of components: "Smart cities can be defined as systems integrating the following areas (axes) of activity within a single urban space: smart economy; smart mobility; smart environment; smart people; smart life; smart management" ^[1]. The Government of the Russian Federation has created a smart city standard called "Basic and Additional requirements for Smart Cities (Smart City Standard)" ^[2]. The standard also uses a systematic approach and a smart city is considered in the context of the following components:

• 1. City administration
• 2. Smart housing and communal services
• 3. Innovations for the urban environment
• 4. Smart urban transport
• 5.      Intelligent public safety systems
• 6.      Intelligent environmental safety systems
• 7. Communication network infrastructure
• 8. Tourism and service

With all this, the very concept of "smart city" does not have a clear definition, today there are many definitions of what a smart city is. That is why the opposite approach is relevant – integrative, based on trying to predict the overall effect of the introduction of various IT concepts. To do this, they are trying to conceptually describe a smart city ^[3], an urban community ^[4], the human capital of a smart city ^[5]. The authors in this article also adhere to an integrative approach.

Problem statement

The purpose of this article is to study the consequences of the introduction of the concept of a "smart" city on the urban environment. To apply an integrative approach, an object of analysis is needed that has a fairly general character and characterizes the city as a whole. The authors chose the urban landscape as such an object.

Landscape is a concept borrowed from geography. The term was introduced into Russian science by the famous Russian scientist Alexander Humboldt, who borrowed the word from his native German, where it has existed for a long time and meant die Landschaft - "kind of land", "kind of terrain", "... a large, visible to the simple eye area of the surface, differing from neighboring areas by characteristic individual features" ^{[6, p.6]}.

Currently, dozens of monographs and hundreds of books are devoted to landscape studies. "The decades-long struggle of various geographical schools for the "only correct understanding" of the landscape phenomenon has ended with the natural recognition of the right to parallel existence of several interpretations, which are perceived by researchers as cognitive models created for different purposes and differing in the content of the selected features, but nevertheless true, each in its own conditions" ^[7]. According to A.Khoroshev ^[8], there are currently six different approaches to defining the landscape. The authors will adhere to one of the six listed interpretations: landscape as a territory under human influence. The term "cultural landscape" is often used. To emphasize the role of human activity, the clarifying concepts of "anthropogenic landscape" and "urban landscape" appeared. Structural elements of the urban landscape are described in ^[9]. Another characteristic feature of the landscape is multi-scale, which is manifested in the presence of a hierarchical structure of the landscape ^[8].

The choice of landscape as the object of study and the subject of this article is convenient because the landscape is an extended, structurally complex object that is sure to change under the influence of IT technologies. The general vector of changes can also be predicted: this is an increase in manageability, since any introduction of IT technologies increases the manageability of the system. This hypothesis determines the research methods of this article. To build a final picture, it is necessary to build a general architecture of the landscape management system and, based on it, identify and describe the functionality of the "smart landscape".

1.   Solution methods

1.1 Cybernetic management paradigm

To implement the search approach, a common vision is needed – a common paradigm of consideration. The authors are guided by the cybernetic paradigm. Cybernetics is used because it is the science "about the general laws of the processes of control and transmission of information in machines, living organisms and society" - Norbert Wiener ^[10]. To cybernetics we owe the universal control scheme shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the control process in cybernetics

Figure 1 shows all the components described by another prominent cyberneticist Kelly Kevin ^[11]. Cybernetics includes the study of feedback, black boxes, and derived concepts such as control and communication in living organisms, machines, and organizations, including self-organizations. It focuses on how something (digital, mechanical or biological) processes information, reacts to it and changes or can be changed in order to better perform the first two tasks. Hence it follows that cybernetics can be used to analyze the functioning of a smart city.

           A cybernetic view of the traditional management system of the city, and, consequently, of the landscape, is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Cybernetic paradigm of the city management system

Here, the urban environment (urban landscape) acts as an object of management, and the city administration acts as a management system. The control system has a complex structure, being divided into representative and executive parts. The executive authority carries out the current management, through the bidding system, sending control signals to contractors. The representative part of the management system creates a communication channel for receiving control information from the population. Figure 2 shows the executors of the solutions: developers, developers, municipal unitary enterprises, contractors. They transform the decisions made into material impacts on the urban environment. The outputs of the process are the public services produced, and the inputs are the society's requests for a high–quality and comfortable urban environment.

1.2 The Law of Necessary Diversity

The law of necessary diversity was discovered by William Ross Ashby. The formulation belonging to Ashby himself: "management can be provided only if the diversity of the manager's means (in this case, the entire management system) is at least not less than the diversity of the situation managed by him" ^[12]. The law of necessary diversity in the case of a hierarchical control system was generalized by cyberneticist and philosopher E.A.Sedov ^[13]. He formulated the law of "hierarchical compensation". One of the most successful formulations belongs to Nazareth "in a complex hierarchical system, the growth of diversity at the upper level is ensured by limiting diversity at previous levels, and vice versa, the growth of diversity at the lower level [of the hierarchy] destroys the upper level of the organization" ^[14]. 

2.   Urban landscape as an object of management

Earlier it was said that to describe the functionality of a smart landscape, it is necessary to describe the architecture of the landscape management system. The authors propose to build the overall architecture of the landscape management system, starting from the lowest level. Based on the assumption that multifunctional landscape elements will receive their control systems first. Such a hypothesis is plausible, since the combination of several functions in one element requires the introduction of a control system that will control the functionality of the system.   Let's highlight the multifunctional elements of the landscape. 

2.1 Facades of buildings

Currently, the facades of buildings most often perform a passive role. But ways to make facades noise-absorbing are already being worked out ^[15]. The task of creating energy-efficient facades is also relevant ^[16]. Facades of buildings are widely used for illumination and various light installations ^[17]. Practice shows that as soon as facades begin to perform several functions, there will immediately be a need to manage various functions of facades. An example of which is the concept of controlled (dynamic) facades ^[18].

2.2 Transport hubs (stops)

        There are two trends in the design of public transport stops. The trend of transport management is the transition to a "smart stop". "Smart stops are a complex of various systems that allow passengers to conveniently use public transport, calculate travel time more accurately, and regulate their time when using public transport." ^[19]. On the other hand, a public transport stop is a functional object in an urban environment. "The bus stop pavilion should be visible. This is necessary in order for the guests of the city to quickly navigate and find public transport stops. Noticeable illumination of the stop will help with poor visibility in rain, snow, fog and at night, it is better to orient road users. The bus stop pavilion should provide a comfortable stay for people in different seasons of the year. In winter, the stop should be heated by heating elements. In summer, by spraying fine water, create a cool microclimate in the pavilion area. Also, the stop should be designed in such a way that the people inside the pavilion are protected from precipitation and wind as much as possible" ^[20]. Thus, public transport stops become multifunctional objects.

            2.3 Lighting system

Lighting is one of the most dynamically developing components of the urban landscape. "Smart" lighting will be different, first of all, adaptability. It will adjust to the number of cars or people passing through the streets. According to the work ^[21], "smart lighting" is included in the list of the most frequently implemented projects.

2.4 Transport highways and street coverings.

Modern street coverings are one of the most stable components of the landscape. But also one of the most important from the point of view of the created microclimate of the city. Therefore, they are following the path of finding more suitable materials, an example of which is the widespread practice of replacing asphalt pavements with paving slabs. There is also a Smart Road project ^[22]. It is assumed that the "smart road" can perform several functions; change the visual pattern to inform the driver about weather conditions, control the temperature regime of the roadway, absorption of solar radiation, extraction of energy from traffic.

In conditions of climatic instability, it should be expected that street coverings will play a more active role in the formation of the microclimate, for example, they will acquire the functions of changing surface properties depending on climatic conditions to improve adhesion to the coating, as well as the function of absorbing excess solar radiation. Naturally, combining so many functions will require a management system. Structurally, this is already possible today ^[22].

            2.5 Green infrastructure.

The landscaping system (green infrastructure) is also one of the most conservative components of the landscape. "The functions of green spaces in cities are different - purification of atmospheric air from chemical pollution, their beneficial effect on the urban climate and noise reduction" ^[23]. Also a great advantage of the landscaping system is the ability to manage the urban climate. To do this, it is necessary to properly build a landscaping system at the city level. On a smaller scale, the evolution of the landscaping system takes place in the direction of "capturing" new types: building facades – "green facades" ^[24] and roofs – "green roofs" ^[25]. Thus, green infrastructure will play the role of a stabilizing element of the landscape, designed to solve long-term problems.

3 Control system architecture

Let's start with the description of the overall architecture of the system from the lower level: from the level of management of all individual elements of the landscape. Each subsystem of the lower level has its own repertoire of control actions and management information. Since there are many lower-level systems, and a citizen can be in the field of action of several of them at the same time, then both control actions and management information must be integrated. For example, when a pedestrian passes through a smart intersection, he is under the influence of at least two subsystems of a smart city: the intersection subsystem and the noise-absorbing system of the building facade. The unification of numerous control systems for multifunctional landscape elements can be achieved only through the transition to the concept of the Internet of Things. The main advantage of the Internet of Things is the presence of new connections between objects, which gives them completely new properties. "In the most general form, from an infocommunication point of view, the Internet of Things can be written in the form of the following symbolic formula:

IoT = Sensors (sensors) + Data + Networks + Services" ^{[26, p.9]}.

The formula describes the physical structure of the Internet of Things as an information system. The Internet of Things in the concept of a smart city is a system of sensors and sensors controlling individual elements of the landscape.

 The concept of the Internet of Things at the lower level of the control system provides a wide variety of system responses. In order to achieve the necessary variety of reactions, the control system must contain several hierarchical levels, each of which has a relatively small spectrum of reactions, but acting together, all levels provide the necessary variety of behavior. The limitation of the necessary reactions of the system is dictated by the law of necessary diversity.  The general scheme is shown in Figure 3. The diagram shows a multi-level architecture of the control system, which, due to the presence of various hierarchical levels, provides the necessary variety of reactions. At the moment, it is quite difficult to predict the required number of levels to create a hierarchy.

Figure 3. Multilevel architecture of the control system.

An important element of the management system is a dedicated preference matching system. Currently, this function is performed by a representative part of the city government. The development of information and communication technologies simplifies communication with the authorities and greatly increases the amount of information about management. At the municipal level, there are sites for direct communication with the administration, where any citizen can complain about the quality of services or infrastructure. Thus, the system of matching the preferences of citizens plays an important role, limiting the diversity of reactions, which makes it possible for the entire management system to function.

Due to the existence of a system of matching preferences, the presence of which is dictated by the law of the necessary diversity, the object of management in the urban environment is not an individual citizen, but a group of citizens. At the same time, the introduction of information and communication technologies into the feedback system and, as a result, an increase in the volume of control information has a downside: it becomes more difficult to coordinate opinions to make a single decision.

     The goals of landscape management are diverse. From providing conditions for the production of high–quality and diverse public goods - environmental services - as they say recently ^[27], to creating a comfortable urban environment. There are several interpretations to define the term "comfortable urban environment". One of the first researchers in this direction was Ian Gale, who formulated his system of "12 criteria" for the comfort of the urban environment ^[28]. Further research continued, there are many works on the topic of the quality and comfort of the urban environment, for example, ^[29],[30]. For the purposes of bureaucratic management, a methodology for assessing the urban environment quality index has been developed ^[31]. Recently, climate problems have become more relevant, and therefore the purpose of landscape management may be to provide microclimatic comfort, for this there are more and more opportunities.

4.   What will be the "smart landscape"

After the structure and functions of the control system are described, you can proceed to the description of the functionality of the "smart" landscape, i.e. to what the "smart landscape" will be.

The first quality resulting from the ability to customize individual elements of the landscape is adaptability. Adaptability to external conditions and the ability to maintain microclimatic comfort. Climate comfort is a topic of scientific research that is relevant in connection with global climate change. Thus, in the work of E.A.Grigorieva ^[32], four strategies for reducing the temperature in the city are given: 1) special types of development "urban canyons", 2) effective use of green spaces, 3) various water bodies and humidification systems, 4) the use of special materials for street coverings and paving slabs. As you can see, all these features are not just available within the framework of the "smart landscape" concept, but can also be greatly enhanced in efficiency by increasing the controllability of the system and achieving a synergistic effect.

The adaptability of the landscape is also understood as the ability to adapt to the individual and group preferences of citizens. In this case, adaptive capabilities are limited by the ability of citizens to agree among themselves and make an agreed decision. The management system, according to Figure 3, deals with the behavior of not an individual citizen, but a group of citizens. For this purpose, a separate subsystem for matching preferences is allocated in the management system. In fact, this subsystem is the development of the practice of public hearings and voting on project decisions, which is already available now. The trend towards attracting the public to the problems of landscaping is already visible. The role of the public in the development of the project, in monitoring the execution of construction works, in participating in construction works is being strengthened, which is fixed in the standard of integrated development of territories ^[33] and in earlier methodological recommendations for the preparation of landscaping rules ^[34]. Moreover, a standard has been created for involving the population in landscaping projects ^[35]. A natural consequence of the tendency to individualize projects is the tendency to a variety of design solutions. With the development of smart city technologies, the trend towards individualization of landscaping will only increase, and any group of citizens will be able to order an individual landscaping project (local urban environment) over the Internet in accordance with their preferences or their life circumstances. The ability of citizens to negotiate and come to agreed solutions will determine the spatial size of individual landscaping. Outstanding architect Christopher Alexander believed that the size of an individual residential area should be no more than 300 meters across and include no more than four or five hundred people ^{[36, p.124]}. It is reasonable to take this estimate as an estimate of the size of the individual landscaping zone.  Along with local landscaping zones, large extended objects will also form the landscape: terrain features, highways, boulevards, parks. As a result, the landscape will become an even more complex multi-scale structure.

The multi-scale landscape will acquire a new quality due to the hierarchical structure of the management system. Earlier it was said that the diversity of behavior at the lower level should be compensated by restrictions at the upper level. The upper level of the management system will be designed to manage large landscape objects: streets, highways, squares.

The next important characteristic of the landscape is dynamism. Thanks to its adaptability, a smart landscape will look different at different times of the year, look different in different weather and look different depending on the time of day.

In order to form an image as a result, we will present several visualizations. Graphical basis for visualizations ^[33]. Figure 4 shows one of the visualizations.

Figure 4 Visualization of the "smart landscape" concept. Designations: 1 - electric and hydrogen transport, 2 - "smart" crossing - part of a unified pedestrian and transport traffic control system, 3 - "smart" lighting - part of a unified pedestrian and transport traffic control system, 4 - green roof for creating a comfortable microclimate, 5 - street covering forming a comfortable microclimate, 6 - transformable green islands, 7 - adaptive facades of buildings with light and noise absorption functions.

Figure 5 shows a visualization of "local landscaping", when residents of two territories close to each other choose different landscaping reflecting priority interests.

Figure 5 Visualization of the concept of "local improvement". Designations: 1- electric and hydrogen transport, 2 - "smart" crossing - part of a unified pedestrian and transit traffic management system, "smart" lighting - part of a unified all-terrain vehicle and transport traffic management system, 4 - dedicated bike path as part of "local landscaping", 5 - street pavement adapted for walking with pets animals, also part of the "local improvement", 6 - a green island for relaxation purposes, 7 - a "smart" playground for children's games.  

Conclusion

      The purpose of this work was to get an integral idea of how the urban landscape will be transformed in the context of the introduction of the smart city concept on the basis of the chosen paradigm. The article uses the original author's approach to the description of landscape properties. The approach is based on the use of a cybernetic paradigm. According to this approach, the authors first investigate the smart city as a management system, then, based on the properties of the management system, identify the functional characteristics of the landscape as an object of management. The authors build the architecture of the management system on the principle of "bottom-up", starting from the lower level. To describe the lower level of the control system, the authors analyzed the literature and identified multifunctional landscape elements that should be equipped with control systems in the first place.  The authors believe that the integration of landscape element management systems will take place on the basis of the Internet of Things concept. In general, the architecture of the management system will be hierarchical, which follows from the law of necessary diversity, which requires limiting the variety of top-level management system implementations. The authors believe that a system of matching the preferences of citizens will be used as a limiter of the diversity of the top-level realizations of the system.

    Continuing the chosen ogiginal approach, the authors proceed to the description of the characteristics of the "smart" landscape, endowing it with the properties of dynamism, adaptability and multi-scale. The dynamism of the "smart" landscape is determined by the characteristics and management capabilities of the structural elements of the landscape. The dynamism of the "smart" landashft gives the landscape adaptability. The adaptability of the "smart" landscape is understood by the authors in two aspects. As an opportunity to adapt to external changes while maintaining a comfortable urban environment. And how it is possible to adapt to the individual preferences of citizens. The polymascality of the landscape was previously known and described. In the concept of a "smart" landashaft, additional scaling arises, associated with the hierarchical structure of the management system, the structure of which is determined by the possibilities of coordinating the preferences of citizens. Thus, an additional factor is introduced into the concept of multi-scale landscape.

      In general, the authors proposed the concept of a "smart" landscape as an integral part of the concept of a "smart" city and identified the main characteristics of a "smart" landscape.