Building ecological cultural networks: engaging with communities through data

Architects, developers and other built environment stakeholders are beginning to utilise data in shaping the processes of the designing, planning and managing of existing and future urban developments. Including cultural variables within such processes can be a complex affair, however it is these local elements that are intrinsic to forming identity and placeness. This paper addresses the potential to identify and build local and regional networks of good practice relating to ecological development. The study considers the potential for mining specific data within urban communities in the Boka Kotorska region of Montenegro as a means of appraising sustainable urban evolution. The author explores the possible benefits of combining community-generated data and environmental factors to establish a more resilient and place-centred model of urban development. The proposed assessment method involves collecting data from related communities by adopting practical and inclusive models of evaluation. These models can then be transposed onto global mapping applications such as Google Maps to give local and regional ‘snap shots’ of urban ecological health.