Abstract

A collaborative workshop between the Centre for Music and Science and the Dutch national City Rhythm project, University of Amsterdam.

Description

While many cities are becoming safer in terms of criminal statistics, people are feeling less safe, evidenced in Amsterdam, the Hague, and Rotterdam. How do citizens trust and come to mistrust?

The City Rhythms project of Holland has proposed to investigate safety and trust in the different neighbourhoods of cities by analysing the rhythms of these neighbourhoods. The project defines rhythm as being variation in a pattern in a given structure. The researchers invented beats, base and street rhythms, a result of the analysis of specific datasets about neigbourhoods using the Mixed Hidden Markov Model.

Questions addressed: • How does rhythm relate to our wellbeing? • how can we translate rhythm to the data world? • Rhythm is territorium (Deleuze and Guatari) and it is also culture, so it includes and excludes. What does this mean for neighborhood design? • What does synchronisation actually trigger or cause or make emerge? • Rhythm and self-organisation are driving forces in networks. How does self-organization relate to the tuning of rhythm?

The City Rhythm project is led by Caroline Nevejan, who was recently made Professor by special appointment at the University of Amsterdam, in the field of Designing Urban Experience.

Presenting with her are the principle team members on the project: Pinar Seftkali, who is an architect and PhD researcher, and Sirish Kumar Manji, renowned Tabla Maestro. Pinar will present a rhythm analysis methodology from an architecture perspective, and Sirish will explore with Caroline Nevejan what rhythm is and within the context of urban data. Ian Cross, the Director of the CMS , will explain how synchrony enables us to ‘join in’ (based on the CMS Joining In project), and Satinder Gill, Research Affiliate with the CMS , will speak with Caroline Nevejan on rhythm of engagement and self-organisation in networks.

We invite you to join us in this discussion.