Editorial

摘要

All human and natural events in motion are reflected in cities. Until quite recently we relied upon human recording of these motions-on histories which inevitably incorporate the perceptions, fallibilities, and limits of ourselves as observers. Our sense of their importance could only be culled by arraying the relative frequency of their reporting against our own personal experiences. More 'objective' and automatic measurements of change have only existed en masse since the industrial revolution and, until the invention of electricity in the 19th century and thence the silicon chip fifty years or so ago, reliable and extensive automated recording had minimal significance. This began to change with the development of the Internet. Its access through wireless devices with geopositioning systems that can be incorporated into ever-smaller recording instruments is now enabling individuals to record their motion at specific locations and on a continuous basis.