Urban semantics: Producing shared knowledge through ontologies

The current urban complexity presupposes the search for new approaches that are at the same time adaptive, flexible, and able to develop further connections and relationships and adjust to changes. To this, the increasing number of data accumulation and analysis operations has made it necessary, over the last few years, to define concrete actions that would make them more accessible and shareable. To this end, and considering particularly the field of Informatics and Information Sciences, an ontology represents an extremely valuable tool that makes possible the digital control and integration of different information, including the urban context, through the construction of a common semantic structure shared between different stakeholders. The methodological approach provides for a qualitative evaluation in which the effects in terms of successful communication between the actors involved are investigated. In addition, the critical analysis of the literature takes into account several domains such as mobility, urban renewal, land use, smart cities, the city and its services, and the transport system. Globally, the ontological tool is enhanced by demonstrating and comparing different possible levels of interaction that identify correct ontological functionalities capable of developing sets of concepts and relationships that are effective and factually sharable, to produce knowledge related to urban studies.