Your personal space is no longer physical – it’s a global network of data

In the digital world, any action we do generates data – whether browsing the internet, answering emails or messaging our friends. Translated into radio waves, this information can travel almost effortlessly through space in a split second.

• Silvio Carta
• The Conversation

Data are all around us, invisibly occupying the space between ourselves and other objects in the built environment.

My colleagues and I conducted a study to understand how the presence of all this data alters our understanding of personal and public spaces.

As a case study, we set up an open Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Plaza de Los Palos Grandes in Caracas, for people to connect free of charge for a limited period of time.

A total of 123 people connected to our WLAN with their devices, sending and…

• Your personal space…