DIGITAL URBANISM: ONTOLOGY OF HYBRID URBAN SPACES IN THE AGE OF DIGITALIZATION

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the phenomenon of digital urbanism as a transdisciplinary research field integrating philosophical, engineering-technical, socio-spatial, culturological, and information–communication paradigms. Digital urbanism is conceptualized as an epistemological strategy for understanding the transformative processes occurring in the modern city under the influence of digital technologies, and as a theoretical framework for analyzing the new ontology of urban space. The key concepts of digital urbanism are explored: code/space, platform urbanism, real-time city and infrastructuring, which form the theoretical apparatus for understanding the hybridization of the urban environment. The technological components of the city's digital transformation are analyzed: the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, geographic information systems, and mobile interfaces, which act as tools for constructing a new urban reality. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of urban space hybridization, where the physical and digital environments mutually constitute each other, creating new modes of perception and interaction. The transformation of the city's spatio-temporal structures is explicated, in particular, the transition from cyclical temporality to the logic of constant updating and from static spaces to dynamic flows. The influence of digital mediation on urban experience is revealed, where technological interfaces become key intermediaries in the subject's interaction with urban space, forming individualized routes and personalized cartographic representations. The aesthetic aspects of the digital city are analyzed, including the formation of a new visual culture and data architecture. A critical analysis of the social, cultural, and ethical implications of digital urbanization is carried out, particularly the problems of the digital divide, privacy, and algorithmic governance. The city is conceptualized as a platform and information environment operating in real-time, transforming traditional notions of urban space and catalyzing emergent forms of sociality. The necessity of integrating technological innovations with a critical reflection of the social, cultural, and ethical aspects of the city's digital transformation is substantiated for the formation of a balanced approach to the development of the urban environment in the age of digitalization.