Technological Convergence Vs Knowledge Integration

Today Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) make it available a novel superimposing environment, i.e. an information-wired environment, which concocts innovative system functionalities, i.e. new artifacts, additional capabilities of affordances, new ways to enable reflexive abilities for both individuals and organizations. Within this environment, also the lines of enquire traditionally adopted in the analysis of urban systems are modified and may play a novel role in supporting agents’ decision-making and behaviors. The discussion is laid out as follows. First, in section 2, the major contribution of ICT to the evolution of today urban systems is emphasized. This stems from the intrinsic components of innovativeness underlying ICT, which enables the building of an information-wired environment. Next, in section 3, the main methods of enquire of urban systems, i.e. models, indicators and spatial representations are briefly recalled. Finally, in section 4, a few implications as far as the modification of the role of existing methodologies are discussed. It is argued that in the information-wired environment created by ICT that role is strengthened, i.e. methods of enquire act as cognitive mediators in that environment. This strengthening, however, does not simply result from technological convergence, which makes methodological approaches easier to integrate. Rather it stems from a deeper integrative process based on knowledge integration, which human agents, within a reflexive urban system coupled with an enabling information-wired environmentwould be capable to instanciate.