Spatial evaluation of four neighbourhoods within the Capital city of Valletta, Malta, using the App WAY-CyberParks

One of the main parts of COST Action TU1306 is the development and research of the applicability in public spaces of an ICT tool which serves as interface between the people and public urban spaces. The main objectives of this tool – the Way-Cyberparks digital tool – are to enable public space designers to
understand the perception of people visiting these sites, and to enrich individuals’ experience by providing contextual information, games or tools to socialize. In line with this, the main goal of this STSM is to pilot and optimize the WAY-Cyberparks digital tool in the city of Valletta (Malta), within the broader
intention of assessing the spatial and social impact of specific cultural projects (cultural infrastructure) within selected urban spaces.
The main intention of using the Way-Cyberparks digital tool in the city is to relate it to the upcoming projects being planned for Valletta European Capital of Culture (EcoC) 2018. The digital tool will permit the neighbours and local residents to evaluate the projects that will be carried out, based on a number of chosen criteria, and to send suggestions and voice their complaints. Users may carry this out through the application thanks to presence of specific questions that may be answered, as well as a free message sending service. For this reason, a particular case study typology has been developed for the city using four different open spaces and generating a set of questions specifically contextualized for these four spaces. Thus, in this STSM a testing and optimizing activity could be performed in the city of Valletta. Additionally, the new version of the digital tool was presented to the attendees of the ICiTy 2016 conference, and its use was encouraged within the site-visits that were planned as part of the programme.