Figure 1 - uploaded by Andrés Felipe Valderrama Pineda
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Layout and main statistics of the Copenhagen Metro. Information retrieved from Metro's official webpage www.m.dk
Source publication
This is a study of the processes of design of large technological systems based on a two- case study: the rapid transit bus system, Transmilenio, in Bogotá, Colombia, and the urban rail system, Metro, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The research focused especially on the process by which designers define material scripts during the conception, construction...
Citations
... This article is part of a doctoral research project to understand the socio--technical dynamics of the production of urban systems and the city (Valderrama, 2010). This contribution is the result of a post-mortem analysis of the change in the visual representation strategy and the general signage of Transmilenio undertaken in 2006. ...
... Why did they have to face such confusion among passengers? A detailed analysis of the design of the Transmilenio system is available else-where (Ardila--Gomez, 2004;Valderrama, 2010). Here I want to con-centrate on the elements that make the map issue relevant. ...
... This is happening because Transmilenio has been overtaking the main trunk lines of the city, playing the role underground systems play in other cities. Statistically it may not be the most used mode of transport but its configuration in the current arena of development of the city makes it a powerful actor (Valderrama, 2010). Therefore, just as in Lon-don, the Transmilenio map has the potential of establishing the transportation station and the trunk lines as the main organizing principle of the city. ...
In this paper, I address the following questions: What do experts negotiate when they discuss the contents of a map of a transportation system? Is it a negotiation of a purely representational tool or is the negotiation also about what the transportation system is and how it should evolve? What implications does this have for the development of the city of Bogotá? Departing from Peirce’s triad of index, symbol and icon, I trace the discussions surrounding the evolution of the map of the urban transportation system Transmilenio in the city of Bogotá. I find that the experts involved were not only negotiating the representational contents (symbol and interpretant), but also the system itself (object and index). I also suggest how a map as an icon can have consequences for the city. Therefore, I propose to analyse the map as a screening device to avoid the limitations of a purely representational analysis.
... I have argued elsewhere that it is appropriate to conceptualize a city as an arena of development of transport technologies Valderrama, forthcoming 2010). An arena of development is basically the interaction of many actor networks. ...
... (2008) The designers of Transmilenio interacted with diverse social groups, companies, interest groups, politicians and potential users during the process of design and construction of the system (Ardila- . However, during this process, the designers granted access to the core designing team and network only to a few social groups, companies and politicians, and carefully fenced out many actors that had the potential to influence the design (Valderrama, forthcoming 2010). The designers of Transmilenio did not approach associations of people with disability nor were such individuals invited to give their points of view. ...
... The designers of the Transmilenio conceived many of the features of this transportation system, including material scripts to specifically address the many problems that the TPC presented Valderrama forthcoming 2010). One such problem was the unclear distribution of legal, operational and economic responsibilities among the main actors that compose the system. ...
From the introduction: I am very honoured to be appointed professor in these two topics: Techno anthropology – a new education -and in STS - a fairly young research field. But this is also a fairly challenging appointment, since both techno anthropology and STS are relatively unknown and rather incomprehensible to the general public. In fact, a consultant from the Danish Federation of Industries recently declared that their member companies would almost certainly not want candidates with new strange combinations such as techno anthropology. The companies, she claimed, would prefer well-established educations such as lawyers, engineers and economists. My talk today is not for the benefit of those who would reject techno anthropology out of hand – or STS for that matter. I take it as a good sign that you have come here voluntarily, and I will therefore assume some measure of good faith on your part.
