Potential Uses of Abstract Spaces in Smart City Management

Abstract

ICT tools based on abstract spaces can be considered as the "younger sibling" of GIS tools. While GIS tools based on real spaces, i.e. those that are easy for users to imagine, are developing more and more, tools based on abstract spaces are still in their infancy. The aim of this article is to show the possibilities and directions of application of ICT tools based on abstract spaces and to present the current state of their application. The article shows which elements of GIS technology can be used in tools based on abstract spaces and what differentiates the discussed types of spaces.The approach to the proposed tools was made from three points of view. First - the types of abstract spaces were presented. Second - the areas of their application were indicated along with the application of higher information functions (such as spatial data collection for abstract spaces, their single- and multi-area visualisation, environmental analysis and assessment, planning, inspiration and support of decision-making processes presented in abstract spaces). And thirdly, they were framed from the point of view of modern technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality) or hyperlinks.The reflections were concluded with an analysis of the current state of application of the technology in question in Polish public administration offices.The results of the surveys show that the proposed solutions are not currently used in city halls and are at the conceptual stage. The topic of AI is well known among the respondents. This is probably due to the popularity of the concept in popular science publications. Respondents show much less interest in the area of abstract spaces. Furthermore, they are of the opinion that their GIS solutions do not support this type of space, or if they do, they have no idea how to use it.