Maurice de Kleijn (SPINlab) and co-workers have developed a Spatial Data Infracstructure (SDI) to support the management and research of the history and heritage of Testaccio, a quarter in Rome, Italy. The project is part of the Challenging Testaccio research project organized by the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR).
Features from the past in present cities have been identified as valuable and as potential assets for future urban development. Transferring knowledge about the history and heritage of the urban landscape is considered to be a challenging matter. Because much of this information can be linked to a geographical location, a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) would be a valuable facility in support of their work. To test the added value of the SDI, a scientific experiment was set up. From this experiment with the SDI, a digital cultural biography app was developed. This app is now available in the itunes App Store for free.
Using a TouchTable at the GeoDesign Summit Europe 2013, SPINlab-researcher Maurice de Kleijn explains the Testaccio Cultural Biography project to the President of the Dutch Court of Audit, Mw. Drs. Saskia Stuiveling.