A lot has been written about “wi-fi cities” and “wireless communities”. A variety of projects have been considered around the world, some with more success than others.

One thing which seems to have been missing from most of the proposals I have seen is the issue of content. Simply making the open internet available across a geographical area is one possibility, but that does not seem to offer as much potential pay-off for the sponsoring authorities as a more integrated approach.

Obvious choices include negotiating with local businesses, but another option is to use such a wireless plan to also enhance the skills and education of people in the area. This is a traditional role of municipal and area authorities and a good candidate for a “cheap win” deployed over a wireless area, for example the “learning communities” in this Canadian report.

The London underground map has long been held as a classic of information design, eschewing unnecessary details of distance and geography in favour of a symbolic connection between stations.

Max Roberts delves in to the way that the modern incarnation of this classic is becoming progressively overwhelmed by “information pollution”, arguably reducing its effectiveness.

Information Pollution on the Underground Map

I have seen many software products fall into the same trap. With each new version or upgrade a few (individually small and potentially valuable) new features are added, and the original clear, expressive and usable design is compromised. After relatively few such iterations the software has the appearance of being complex and bloated, with no clear indication why.

An object lesson for all HCI and usability designers in evolving systems.