| The Internet is a multi-dimensional information space. This space is not distant to people; it is very much integrated in contemporary life and includes information, relationships and interactions.; The Internet affects public places, the third space placeholders, in respective scales depending on the different socioeconomic models that establish these public places. Internet access points in public space, Internet Hubs, are dynamic systems; their creation and existence is a result of associating place and demand, using technology as a catalyst. Internet Hubs take a multiplicity of forms; computer terminals in various designs and wireless systems, either outdoors or indoors, provided that anyone can access the Internet through them, with or without paying a fee, are all Internet Hubs.; The overlay of the Internet on public places either facilitates existing activities and socializing patterns or is inventing new types of places and interactions. The more technology advances, the deeper the infiltration of the Internet can be through Internet hubs. Because of its very rich and malleable nature, the Internet's influence on public space may be profound.; In the new information age, Internet access any-place and any-time is not a matter of privilege, rather it's a matter or restructuring public space in order to meet contemporary demand for accessing the information space. If Internet Hubs are designed and used under well-defined principles, as I hope to suggest in this dissertation, the business, civic and government potential of this overlay of the Internet onto the physical public space may be very significant. |
