Kosketettaville

Kosketettaville is a fictional city described in design fiction and speculative urbanism as a model of tactile urban interfaces. The name combines Finnish kosketus, meaning touch, with ville, meaning city, signaling a place where touch guides interaction with the built environment and information systems.

In the Kosketettaville concept, streets, benches, walls, and signs are equipped with embedded sensors and actuators that provide tactile feedback. Surfaces can change texture or temperature in response to user contact, and public displays respond to touch with haptic cues, sound, or scent. The design emphasizes accessibility by enabling information access without reliance on vision or hearing, supporting users with sensory impairments and promoting inclusive wayfinding.

Origin and usage: The concept emerged in Finnish design and urban informatics discussions and is explored in academic papers, design-fiction narratives, and concept videos that imagine interactive cities. It is typically presented as a thought experiment illustrating how tangible interfaces could reshape civic participation, learning, and daily life in urban spaces.

Reception and critique: Proponents cite potential for intuitive information access and stronger local engagement through multisensory signals. Critics warn about high costs, maintenance demands, energy consumption, and privacy concerns related to pervasive sensing and data collection. Real-world applicability is debated, with Kosketettaville commonly treated as a speculative or design-fiction reference point rather than an implemented project.