== USER SCENARIOS ==


'''Archival Researcher Posting a Map'''
I’ve discovered a collection of maps showing the evolution of Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s postal infrastructure – e.g., the addition of new post offices, the development of delivery routes, etc. I’m assuming that I don’t simply post these maps to a single point on the map, but, rather, to an “area” encompassing Manhattan and Brooklyn. I imagine I have to first draw an “area” on the map corresponding to the area covered by each of the maps, then post the maps one at a time? Then, how would I link these maps so that a potential user can then recognize that they’re a linked series; s/he could see a list of all the “postal maps,” then perhaps open them all simultaneously and increase/decrease their opacity to see how, for example, 1910’s infrastructure morphs into 1920’s. How can I also create a layer with my own “linear” argument? I’d like to offer some introductory comments, then control the order in which a user opens the maps, and point out, through a series of superimposed “comment boxes” (or through some other form of commentary), specific significant areas of change on the maps. 

'''Archival Researcher Creating a Network of Individual Areas'''
I’ve created a list of wireless hotspots in the five boroughs. Because I’d like to indicate the coverage of each WiFi zone, I’m assuming I should plot each on URT as an “area,” rather than a site? I’m also not entirely sure about the exact range of a few of these zones, so I took an educated guess when plotting my area on the map, and I indicated in the database that I’m “uncertain” about the exact perimeter. Should the outline of an “uncertain” area appear differently from that of a “definite” area? 
Although I’m sure some visitors would find use in reading about these hotspots one at a time, I’d also like to show them in relation to one another – to see how they’re distributed throughout the city, what areas are over- and under-served, etc. How do I link these various sites into a hotspot map “layer”?  

'''Archival Researcher Posting a Photo of a Particular Site'''
I’m posting a set of archival photos that show how pneumatic tubes were essential to inter-office communication in skyscrapers. In particular, I’d like to show how, if it weren’t for the tubes integrated into the walls of the Western Union building, various departments of the business, spread across several floors, would have had no way to work efficiently with one another. I’d like to show a “section” (vertical) view of the building, with my photos tagged on the relevant floors. I’d also like to somehow draw a connection to the pneumatic tube network running beneath the building, alongside the subway. (Because verticality is a defining characteristic of NY, I think we need to find a way to make the “Z” axis integral to our mapping. Rather than simply showing verticality through “street view” photos that pop up at particular sites on the cartographic map, I’d like to think about how we can give equal prominence to all three dimensions of the city.)

'''Field Researcher Posting an Original Video'''
I’ve made a video of various Telco Hotels throughout the city. Because this video pertains to particular sites, yet also addresses the underground wires that connect them, I’d like to “link” this video both to specific buildings and to the “network” they constitute. I’m assuming I therefore create a “path” on URT, and, at the same time, tag particular “nodes” on that “path.” How do I then link the video to all of these individual sites and to the corresponding path, without having to post the video multiple times – once for each site? 

'''Moderator Managing Class Postings'''
I’ve created a “project” for my entire class. I want to make sure that everything that’s posted as part of “Urban Media Archaeology” is automatically tagged as relevant to “media history” and “infrastructure.” Do I simply have to advise all students to tag every single piece they post to URT – or can I somehow create an “uber-tag” that automatically assigned particular “overarching” tags to everything that’s part of our class’s project? 
I also have a few groups of students who are working together on thematically related projects. How can I create “subgroups” for the Telecommunications, Publishing, and Mobile Media groups, so that they can have access to one another’s projects – and, eventually, so they can work together to create intro and conclusion commentary and “connective” comments for their “subproject’s” layers

'''Student mapping a route using sensor data'''
As their first assignment, a small group of students will embark on a short, non-determined route in NYC carrying 'modular neuroid' a sensor device that maps four types of data:  gps location, noise, temperature, humidity and C02.  The data is monitored on 15 sec. intervals.  The sensor is turned on in the class, and they begin walking.  Student 1 carries the sensor and determines the route.  Student 2 is in charge of taking photographs along their route. Student 3 is in taking notes of unusual situations or events along the way, with the time.  They walk for 30 minutes and note the following events:  a street sweeper, two loud people talking, a bus stop, the inside of a store, a public park, a group of street musicians, a construction site, an alley between buildings, a nail salon, a sidewalk food cart, a busy cross walk, a subway station underpass, a small side street, the inside of Parsons.  When they return they will upload a .csv txt file of their data from SD card to the URT database.  The data is spatialized into the database and they are able to view their route online.  Based on particular moments and routes of their path, they then upload their photographs and notes, as well as mark altitude, add tags and determine future data.  The students will continue to analyze this data, as well as continue to create another sensor map, based on their initial questions or assumptions.


Student mapping historical info
I’m a [college student/urban historian/etc.] who’s fascinated to discover that J&R Music lives on the same block where nearly all of New York’s newspapers resided in the late 19th and early 20th century. I want to determine what other media history – early telegraph and telephone lines, the proximity to news sources at nearby City Hall, etc. – is rooted on or near Park Row. I zoom in on the area, select the “media/communication” filter, and use the timeline slider to visualize the media infrastructure, media companies, etc., that have been tied to that location from the 18th century to today. As I click on a photo of the original New York Herald building, its record documentation appears, and I’m able to identify the specific project to which this particular record is linked. The class project, “Print Histories of 19th-Century New York,” sounds interesting, so click through to the class’s introductory page and browse through some of the other class projects.  

Now I wonder why the city’s newspapers have all departed from Park Row, and where they’ve gone. I zoom out to see the whole of the metropolitan area, select the “newspapers” tag, and again use the timeline slider to visualize the migration of the World, the Tribune, and the Times to different regions of the city. As I move forward through time, I see the disappearance of some newspapers, the emergence of others, the split of various newspapers’ editorial and printing facilities, etc. In short, I watch the evolving “news landscape” of New York.

Archivist
I’m the chief archivist of a local archive that has recently supported and provided resources to a New School class whose class project focused on URT. I want to see what the students have accomplished and identify exactly which resources the students have used from my institution. From the URT home page, I select the “Class X” introductory page, where I can read about