Location-based hybrid urban environment for intangible community heritage protection

Making invisible elements that contribute to the construction of a community’s memory and identity accessible, even to the community members themselves, presents a challenge to heritage conservation efforts[1]. Digital and mixed settings have the potential to assist in combining the tangible and intangible features of historic structures and objects, according to recent work in the field of digital heritage[2]. This article examines how intangible characteristics of a location, such as historically and culturally significant events, may be made visible and put in dialogue with a physical space, as well as with human activities, in a augmented reality environment. The research site is located in the Lower Hill District around the Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is a monument and symbol of community discussion, unity, and civic engagement in the city[3]. I describe the creation of a location-based augmented reality application that overlays historical and cultural background information at Pittsburgh’s Freedom Corner and its surrounding historical area, taking a broad view on community heritage as a spectrum of perspectives and activities generated and operated by communities themselves[4][5]. It provides a real-world illustration of how interactive augmented reality might assist the public in building understanding through experiences that interactively overlay heritage information within a physical landscape. It describes the interplay between historical research and advancement towards the environment’s technical implementation.