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When, where to use displacement ventilation
Displacement ventilation can be used instead of mixed-flow ventilation in HVAC systems. To evaluate its suitability, consider IAQ, comfort, energy consumption, and cost.
When a growing institution needs a new building but has limited space, an underground facility can be an elegant design solution. However, such facilities pose a number of HVAC and air quality challenges. And when the facility is an athletic complex, the challenges become particularly interesting.
In contrast to traditional mixed-flow ventilation systems that aim to uniformly dilute the entire volume of air in a space, displacement ventilation (DV) relies on a stratification concept to consolidate heat for direct removal at the top of a space. DV supplies air at low velocities from numerous outlets close to the floor. The cool supply air flooding the floor rises as it is heated by internal sources. As the heat sources within the room lift the air, it flushes through the occupied zone and is consolidated at the top of the space for extraction. The air does not re-enter the occupied space.
As a technology, DV has been maturing through common practice in industry and in Europe, and it is now applied consistently for classrooms and offices throughout the United States. Design criteria can be referenced in ASHRAE's System Performance Evaluation and Design Guidelines for Displacement Ventilation. ASHRAE Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy can be applied to ensure that temperature, velocity, and vertical temperature gradient in an occupied zone are acceptable. ASHRAE 62.1 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality describes air distribution effectiveness for DV systems.
The choice to employ DV instead of conventional mixed-flow ventilation should be a team decision, with the owner, engineer, and architect all on board. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses. To evaluate DV's suitability, consider indoor air quality, comfort, energy consumption, and cost. DV is preferred where contaminants are warmer and lighter than room air, supply air is cooler than room air, disturbances to room air are weak, ceiling heights are 9 ft or more, and low noise levels are desired.
Supplying air near the floor level rather than at the ceiling has significant design implications. To avoid creating uncomfortable drafts for occupants situated near the diffusers, DV supplies air at higher temperatures—above 63 F—and at a lower velocity. To achieve adequate cooling under these conditions, the air diffusers for DV must be much larger than those of conventional systems. These larger diffusers must be accommodated in the building layout.
The lower velocity of air delivery reduces pressure requirements and allows fans to run more slowly, consuming less energy and producing less noise. This makes DV an excellent choice when lower noise levels are desired. Also, because the supply air temperature is higher than a traditional mixed-flow air system, the economizer cycle is used well into the summer season.
Designing for variations
When applying DV, consider the ventilation rate and cooling load density to ensure that the cooling requirements align with the supply air system's ability to offset the heat gain. In spaces where the internal heat gain density exceeds 15 Btuh/sq ft, take extra care to ensure comfort. DV can be supplemented with localized cooling terminals such as chilled cooling panels to address higher heat gain densities. Emissions from equipment or food preparation should be captured at their source and removed, and care must be taken to limit downdrafts driven by cold walls or cooled ceiling panels, which may lead to higher contaminant concentrations.
A noticeable vertical temperature gradient sets up between the floor and the ceiling. This vertically stratified temperature field needs to be stable for DV to function properly. The temperature in the space is expected to vary linearly with space height in the stratified zone and is nearly constant in horizontal directions, except for regions near diffusers. However, it is difficult to predict the temperature gradient because some of the influential parameters are difficult to account for. These parameters include the radiation between the ceiling and the floor, the variable heat output of equipment and people, and the location of people within the space. A small temperature difference between wall and room air can result in noticeable downdrafts with cold walls and updrafts with warm walls. As the load in the space varies, the buoyancy forces that drive airflow will also vary. Computational fluid dynamics analysis can be used to model the complex air and temperature patterns and predict temperature gradients in the occupied zone.
Because drafts and wide temperature stratification may reduce occupant comfort, the air temperature near the floor and the vertical temperature gradient in occupied zones are the most important parameters in evaluating DV. To reduce the temperature gradient, the supply flow rate must be increased, but this could lead to high air velocity at floor level and high draft risk, as well as consume more energy. To offset heating loads in the winter and augment vertical airflow, perimeter heating terminals such as radiant panels or fin tube can be used. Convective heating terminals can boost the buoyancy-driven airflow within the space.
When heat removal is the main objective, a temperature-based design can be used to match the supply airflow rate and temperature to the current load in the space. When contaminants are a major concern, a shift zone method is used. The shift zone is the boundary between the lower, non-recirculating zone and the upper zone, which has recirculation flow. The concentration of contaminants is at its maximum at the shift zone. The shift zone height is the height above the floor at which the total amount of air carried in convective plumes above a heat source is equal to the supply airflow distributed through diffusers. The shift zone approach is popularly applied in industry to keep the human breathing zone free of contaminants.
Relative humidity (RH) is also critical. RH above 70% is too high for comfort and may result in fungal growth. At 74 F, RH should be maintained at 50% to 60%. To accomplish this, some or all of the supply air must be cooled below room dew point. In humid climates, return air bypass improves dehumidification performance by routing outside air and some return air through the cooling coil where moisture is removed from the airstream. This cold and dry air is then mixed with the conditioned return air to produce a warmer supply air temperature with lower moisture content.
Equipment needs
Air handling unit discharge temperatures are higher for DV than for mixed flow. DV works best with a centralized plant using air handling units and chilled water designed to provide 62 to 67 F supply air to the space. Using this temperature range, free cooling may be available most of the year, and the overcooling and reheat associated with mixed-flow systems is eliminated. The actual energy consumption will depend on the control strategies and air handling systems used. Enthalpy recovery devices can be applied to reduce the dehumidification load of the cooling process.
DV adds complexity to supply air ducting because of the integration of low supply air devices within the programmed space. The architectural design needs to incorporate these large air devices. Generally, supply air can be released from wall ducts that run under windows. As an alternative, air can be supplied through floor plenums, or ceiling jets can be used to send a vertical column of air to the floor and provide personal temperature control. Offices wider than 20 ft may need more than one supply air device. Low sidewall floor diffusers integrated into column enclosures can be effective for large open-plan spaces. Diffuser location and coverage needs to be researched and carefully planned.
Fewer diffusers and less ductwork can be expected, with the understanding that DV diffusers are more expensive than conventional mixed-flow diffusers. Select supply air diffusers with a discharge velocity lower than 50 fpm, as lower supply velocities reduce drafts and noise. DV's limited cooling capacity restricts usage to applications with relatively low heat gain. It may be found that DV is ideal for core zones but not appropriate for perimeter zones because the cooling load is too high. If DV is used in perimeter spaces, a separate heating system may be needed to maintain airflow patterns. Convectors, baseboard, and radiant panels are effective but come with additional cost.
Diffuser type is key to providing the higher air volume rates needed for higher heat loads. Displacement outlets may be located almost anywhere in a room, but the conventional approach has been to locate them at or near floor level. They should be located to take advantage of naturally occurring thermal stratification within the room. Volume control dampers can be located in branch ducts supplying diffusers.
To avoid drafts near diffusers, diffuser performance is critical, and the velocity in the occupied zone, especially near diffusers, must be well controlled, with a velocity no higher than 50 fpm. The entrainment of room air will decrease the temperature gradient in the occupied zone. Blending supply air quickly will reduce drafts. Information on diffuser aspiration and modulation can be found in product catalogs. For diffusers, the distance from a wall-mounted diffuser to a 40 fpm velocity contour along the center line is an important parameter for comfort.
Flow from several diffusers placed close together on the wall will merge to a two-dimensional flow, resulting in velocity lower than a radial-flow single diffuser. If diffusers have slanting discharges and are too close together, the supply airflows can meet and project straight into the room for several feet.
Typically, ceilings should be higher than 9 ft for the displacement effect to take place. Higher ceiling heights enable DV to remove larger heat loads. DV should not be used if high temperatures above 7 ft are unacceptable. It blends well with vaulted ceilings, daylighting, and radiant floor heating. DV may also be useful in core spaces where cooling is always needed. However, perimeter zones with high cooling loads need a close look. The supply airflow rate should be the higher of the required ventilation airflow rate and the supply airflow rate based on cooling load.
Compliance with ASHRAE 55 ensures that the supply temperature, velocity, and vertical temperature gradient in the occupied zone are acceptable. It limits the magnitude of supply room temperature difference and/or space cooling loads for a given supply airflow rate.
A number of design parameters must be considered, including supply airflow rate, supply air temperature, air temperature at floor level, vertical temperature gradient, maximum air velocity at floor level, stratification height, contaminant concentration gradient, energy consumption, first cost, and maintenance. It is prudent to be cautious and clarify assumptions when applying recommendations from design guides.
DV pros and cons
The unique characteristics of large underground institutional facilities can be addressed by applying technologies that are merging into common practice. Displacement ventilation (DV) offers many advantages, including improved indoor air quality, low acoustics, and energy efficiency. It is now being applied in large open spaces as well as offices and classrooms. If a building's design accommodates the special requirements of DV, it can be a healthy option and energy-efficient opportunity.
- DV provides better acoustics and better air quality than mixed-flow systems. Mixed-flow systems tend to be louder because of the higher velocity required from diffusers. Diffuser noise can be difficult to attenuate. Applying DV diffusers rather than mixed-flow diffusers can reduce sound levels by an NC factor of 5.
- Lower supply velocity at diffusers means lower pressure drop, smaller fans, and less energy consumption. Fan horsepower reductions can be attributed to less air movement.
- DV can use fewer diffusers and less ductwork.
- DV introduces supply air at the playing/teaching floor, improving indoor air quality by reducing accumulation of CO2, odor, and indoor contaminants.
- DV has a higher ventilation effectiveness than mixed-flow systems.
- Free cooling may be available most of the year.
- If 100% outdoor air and exhaust is used, the heat gain due to the lights and roof can be eliminated from building cooling loads.
- DV cannot be applied as widely as mixed-air systems.
- DV can add complexity to supply air ducting.
- DV diffusers are more expensive than mixed-flow diffusers.
- The room neutral temperature for a DV system is higher than that of a conventional mixing system.
Schultz is an associate vice president at Cannon Design. His expertise includes all facets of mechanical systems, from heating and cooling plants to distribution and terminal units. He most recently served as mechanical engineer for Kaleida Health's Gates Vascular Institute at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Rahway is responsible over 6,600 shade trees in our city and has the honor of being named a Tree City USA for its care and promotion of healthy trees. These trees help contribute to the attractive character of Rahway and it is also estimated that each street tree adds $5,000 to the value of a home and keeps homes cooler in the summer. The city will remove a street tree only if it is dead or is in immediate danger to life and property. If you would like to have a street tree placed in front of your home, please email us and include your name, address, and phone number so we can add you to the street tree list.
Show All Answers
The Rahway Department of Public Works will have the sidewalk in front of your home evaluated. If the sidewalk has been determined to have been damaged by a city tree your address will be placed on a list to be repaired.
Please note: Chapter 365 of the Code of the City of Rahway mandates that the property owner is responsible for the repair of sidewalks. However, the Department of Public Works does try to repair sidewalks that have been damaged by city trees and are raised at least 1 ½ inches. Residents are asked to be patient, as the number of requests to have sidewalks repaired is quite substantial and may take quite some time to complete. The city is not required to make these repairs.
Since Rahway is an older community, many of its sewers are combined; i.e., they handle both stormwater and sanitary waste from homes and businesses. During heavy rains, the old sewer mains cannot handle the increased flow of rainwater and sanitary waste. Property owners can help by disconnecting downspouts from sanitary lines, but sometimes, the lateral and/or sewer main become clogged with debris. The city is not permitted on private property to clear private sewer laterals. You may call the DPW to inspect the mains in front of your property and clean them if necessary. Maintenance of sewer laterals is the responsibility of property owners and not the city. If you are having a sewer emergency, you may call the DPW directly at 732-827-2060 during business hours. Outside of business hours, please call the Rahway Police Department at 732-827-2200.
It is the responsibility of the city, county, and state to clear streets for vehicles during and after snowstorms. Unfortunately, large quantities of snow in the street often end up in driveway aprons. Property owners are advised to shovel driveway aprons after plows are finished cleaning the street. If you must shovel, place the snow "downstream" of your driveway so the plow cannot push it back into your driveway apron. Property owners should also remove their vehicles before a significant snowfall if they are located along snow emergency routes in Rahway or they will be ticketed and/or towed.
Please call the DPW at 732-827-2061 to report a pothole on a city street. They are usually patched within 72 hours.
Leaf season usually begins in early November and runs through late December. DPW crews will make a minimum of two passes on every street to collect leaves during those weeks. Leaves should be placed in piles along the curb or placed in biodegradable paper leaf bags available at most hardware stores. Leaves placed in plastic bags will not be collected. Because of new statewide regulations from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, leaves and other yard waste cannot be placed in the roadway more than seven days prior to the scheduled collection dates or closer than ten feet from any storm drain inlet. Please call the city's leaf hotline at 732-827-2063 during leaf collection season to learn where DPW crews will be working that day.
The city's water utility has been municipally-owned for over 140 years. It is managed by Veolia. You may reach Veolia via the web or by calling (877) 303-2435.
To report a street light out in your neighborhood, you may report the outage by clicking here or calling PSE&G at 800-436-PSEG (7734). Please have the following information available:
To find your new advisory elevation, type in your address at FEMA's advisory elevation website.
Please refer to the Garbage/Recycling Schedule regarding the pickup of items like televisions, monitors, air conditioners, yard waste, lead collection, and more. Some items are only collected during certain times of the year and there are limitations.
If you'd like more information, please call 732-827-2159.
To find out when is the next time the County will have a mobile paper shredding day and when, please visit the County's website (LINK).

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St. Joseph Health Department & Patee Market Health Center - Formerly Patee Hall
In 1845, John Patee, a native New Yorker, traveling west selling agricultural machinery, purchased two quarter sections of land and had them divided into lots and added to the town of St. Joseph. These additions, which extended south from Messanie Street to Mitchell Avenue, and east from Sixth Street to 13th Street, were known as Patee Town. In May of the same year, he opened the first drugstore in St. Joseph, and by 1860, he was regarded as the wealthiest man in St. Joseph. In 1855, he gave the city a square block of land for use as a park and market place. The land was to "the public for public use forever" and was initially intended for use as a market for products such as hay, wood, and country produce.
In 1905, a movement began for a new market house. On November 12, 1906, a major appropriation to build the first story of the new Patee Market House was approved and a building permit with a $16,000 value was issued the next day. An additional $25,000 was approved in a bond election and another permit was issued in March 1909. The building was completed later that year.
A fire destroyed part of the building in 1911. The building was repaired and in 1916, the Social Welfare Board moved to Patee Hall where they have remained. Patee Market has seen a number of different uses throughout history including housing Associated Charities, the Tuberculosis Society, the Visiting Nurses Association, Polyclinic, and the Board of Health laboratory. During WWII, Army and National Guard units used the second floor for drill, recreation, and quarters, and in 1942, it was designated as an emergency center.
Health Offices Move
Public health offices moved to Patee Hall in the late 1960s. In 1966, a recommendation to abandon Patee Hall was made due to the need for extensive repairs and the lack of money to make those repairs. In 1968, a proposal was submitted recommending the razing of Patee Hall to make way for a new health center.
The Health Department's home health nursing division and clinic services had been in different locations over the years. The nursing services were once located in the Corby Building, and later in City Hall. In 1976, the home health nurses and clinic nursing services were combined at Patee Hall. Municipal Court was moved from City Hall to Patee Hall in the early 1970s where it remained until it was moved to the Buchanan County Courthouse in the early 1990s. A youth recreation center, funded by donations, opened on the second floor in January 1977.
After years of controversy over what to do with the building and where to relocate the city's health services, rather than relocate or construct a new facility, the City Council decided to proceed with renovating Patee Hall. Work was completed on the northern half of the building, housing the Public Health Clinic and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program in February of 1994. The southern half of the building was completed in August of 1994, for the use of the Social Welfare Board. In May of 1996, the northern half of the second floor was renovated and became the home of the Health Department administrative offices and the environmental services division. In September of 1995, the Youth Health Center (currently, Northwest Health Services Youth Dental Clinic) opened its doors in the southern part of the second floor. Extensive aesthetic renovations, as well as a few interior structural enhancements were completed in 2015, refreshing the facility.
On May 22, 1995, the City Council passed a resolution changing the name of the building to Patee Market Health Center, blending the original use name of the building with its current use and function. The St. Joseph Health Department is a city Health Department which serves the citizens of St. Joseph, as well as residents of Buchanan County. All of the health services now located in the building serve as primary care providers for various health needs or as a referral source to other agencies.
In addition to the Health Department, the building also currently houses the Social Welfare Board and the Northwest Health Services Youth Dental Clinic. It also serves as the local extension of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the United States Public Health Service.


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Nothing sears the consciousness and soul of Bruins fans like the sight of a bunch of CH sweaters hugging and high-stepping in the Garden moonlight, the building silent, a band of hooting Canadiens celebrating a playoff series triumph over their archrivals.
So it was once again Wednesday evening, the Bruins minced to pieces by Les Glorieux in a Game 7, their nerves frayed from the opening faceoff, their bumbling newbie defensemen dripping rivulets behind the ears, their top two lines frozen in time and in the futility of their goal-scoring ineptitude.
The final sight was a brutish, agitated Milan Lucic (0-0—0 in the final four games) jawing his way through the sacrosanct handshake line. The perturbed big man was a fright, not only in the utter incompetence of his production, but also his inability to abide politely by the time-honored code of respecting one's conqueror in the goodbye line at center ice.
NBC cameras focused first on Lucic exchanging words with Dale Weise, eliciting a dismissive shrug from the Habs' fourth-line winger. A moment later, after shaking hands with Nathan Beaulieu and Michael Bournival, Lucic paused and grew verbally animated after firmly shaking the hand of Alexei Emelin. Lucic closed face-to-face with Emelin, kept talking, and ultimately it was Habs teammate David Desharnais who tugged Emelin on the arm and abruptly ended the chatter between the two.
According to a report on Yahoo Sports, in which Weise was quoted, Lucic told Weise, "I'm going to [expletive] kill you next year.'' Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur wrote much the same thing, noting, "He apparently told Alexei Emelin something similar.''
In postgame comments to the Globe, Weise opted not to repeat what Lucic said, noting, "It's just a poor way to lose.''
Lucic refused to elaborate on what he said, suggesting that Weise can talk "if he wants to be a baby about it.''
No matter the precise language, Lucic looked lousy. The Bruins and Habs have hated one another for decades, oozing blood and invective over their respective ice sheets, especially come playoff time. Nothing new there. Their mutual hate is what we love.
But through it all, the two sides always somehow managed to end their unholy meetings with a respectful handshake and nod, albeit usually with jaws clenched, teeth grinding, tongues bitten till bleeding.
Case in point: Boston goalie Sugar Jim Henry exchanging a post-series handshake with Montreal icon Maurice Richard in 1952. The scene remains among the most classic sports photographs of all time. Beaten and bandaged, the two men clenched right hands, Henry leaning forward, seemingly reverential toward the great Rocket. Respect to the core.
The Bruins have suffered much harder, more shocking defeats at the hands of the Habs (Google: 1971, Dryden), and while this one no doubt hurt, the Black and Gold gave themselves a black eye in the image department with how they conducted themselves at the end of Games 5, 6, and 7.
Presidents' Trophy winners for their league-best record during the regular season, it took them a mere two rounds of playoffs, and specifically the loss in Game 7, to capture the Sore Losers Cup.
"They say, 'Don't poke the bear,' '' mused Habs defenseman P.K. Subban, who had been showered by Shawn Thornton's bush-league water-bottle antics late in Game 5. "Well, the bear gave us plenty of reasons to compete harder and harder.''
Thornton came off as sophomoric and petty in his episode with Subban and was fined some $2,820 by the league. In Game 6, captain Zdeno Chara, Jarome Iginla, and Lucic, fed up with being provoked by the victorious Habs, traded pointless hacks and punches in the final minute, particularly with Mike Weaver.
And in the final frame of the series, Lucic came off as an angry, disrespectful bully.
Better had he simply abstained from the process and gone directly to the room. Rare are the occasions that players skip the tradition, but it happens. Ex-Boston goalie Gerry Cheevers was a conscientious objector in his days in Black-and-Gold playoff battles.
The time for action isn't at game's end, but while it's still in progress, but that concept for the most part escaped the Bruins in this series. They constantly worked in arrears — the Habs accumulated a total 222:42 in lead time
The Habs were quicker, more opportunistic, and, yes, even more resilient.
Montreal appeared to be on the verge of succumbing after losing Game 5 at the Garden, falling into a 3-2 series deficit, then responded with a pair of wins in which it allowed the Bruins only one goal. Yes, the Bruins' back line struggled, and goalie Tuukka Rask was less than his Vezina candidate self, but over the final 120 minutes of the season, the Boston offense cobbled together merely one goal, an Iginla power-play strike some 38 minutes into Game 7.
"I won't stand here and say it wasn't disappointing,'' said Bruins coach Claude Julien.
Julien, as is his way, stuck with template, only to see his offensive trios ossify. He eventually tried a new mix late in Game 7, yanking fleet-footed Daniel Paille off the No. 4 line and shifting him into rookie Matt Fraser's left wing spot with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson. The change did not deliver a goal, but it showed some promise, albeit far too late.
The Habs have a bunch of Paille-like forwards and have built their quick-transition game around them, a game plan that now has them facing the Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals. The Habs didn't always get many shots vs. the Bruins — they only had 18 to Boston's 30 in Game 7 — but they seemed ever-dangerous.
In the four games the Habs won, they scored the game's first goal, on average, at 6:42 of the first period. In Games 6 and 7, they needed an average of only 2:15 to get on the board.
The Bruins also scored first in the three games they won, but it took them an average of 29:13 to get that goal.
The Habs raced. The Bruins chased. And that pattern held throughout the seven games. When the series ended, the Bruins had worked with a lead for a total of 58:19, a mere 13.6 percent of the time. A very hard way to win.
"Chasing and playing catch-up hockey,'' mused Rask. "It's not going to work every time.''
The young Boston back line, with only Chara and Johnny Boychuk as veterans, severely missed the injured Dennis Seidenberg. Julien late Wednesday said Seidenberg might have played in the next round. Seidenberg could have settled down the unit and left the mistake-prone Matt Bartkowski on the sidelines.
As the series played out, the cost of general manager Peter Chiarelli not replacing Seidenberg at the trade deadline proved deadly. But again, March is a horrible time to fix the roster, especially a void in the top shutdown pairing. No team traded for a true, effective shutdown back liner at the deadline.
Chiarelli came up as empty as the rest of his fellow GMs on that score. And confronted with Montreal's quick-strike attack, Julien ultimately had no way to counter it, his defensemen too inexperienced and mistake-prone and his forwards absent scoring touch.
The top line, with David Krejci (0-2—2) centering Lucic (1-2—3) and Iginla (3-0—3), grew more ineffective with each outing. Krejci, normally a strong postseason producer, painfully underperformed. Lucic took only six shots over the final four games.
The second line was slightly better, combining for 5-7—12. Patrice Bergeron, the trio's anchor, fired more shots (55) and landed more on net (31) than any other of the top six forwards. But centers aren't routinely shooters or goal scorers, and his constant shooting reflected, in part, the ineffectiveness of his wingers, Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith. While Bergeron attempted eight shots per game, together his wingers combined for the same. Curious math, predictable outcome.
Built to win, deemed best of show in the regular season, the Bruins ultimately proved to be the Edsels of the NHL's postseason fleet: heavy, lots of chrome, not nimble enough to win out over the speedier, better-handling bleu, blanc, et rouge.
It was all over — save for Lucic's yelling — before 11 p.m. The road to the Stanley Cup dead-ended on Causeway Street, with Lucic's words in the goodbye line ultimately as empty as the season.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.


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Shortcuts: WD:WY, WD:VOY
Welcome to the Wikidata:Wikivoyage portal for discussing integration of Wikivoyage and Wikidata. This portal homepage serves as a beginner-friendly overview of Wikidata for the Wikivoyage community.
- Following deployment, ways for all Wikivoyage contributors to contribute will be listed at How to help.
- If you're active on Wikivoyage, please add yourself to the list of ambassadors on the Get involved page.
- For discussion of how Wikidata could support Wikivoyage, see Project discussion & development.
- Relevant documentation and related links are available at Resources.
What is Wikidata?[edit]
Wikidata is a free knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. It does for data what Wikimedia Commons does for media files: it centralizes access to and management of structured data for the various projects that are part of the Wikimedia Foundation family. This means that similar content in different languages, mappings and links between sites, and other elements that are useful to multiple projects only need to be recorded and maintained once, rather than in each of the hundreds of projects.
Structured data also means that content can be organized and stored in a defined way, often in order to encode meaning and preserve relationships between different items. It allows machines to 'read', understand, and process information and, in doing so, opens up a lot of exciting ways for data to be used and re-used!
Wikidata will provide structure for all the knowledge stored in its sister projects including Wikivoyage.
Understanding Wikidata[edit]
Instead of pages (the main type of content for most wikis), Wikidata is made up of items. Items are used to represent all the things in human knowledge, including topics, concepts, and objects. For example, the 1988 Summer Olympics, love, Elvis Presley, and gorilla are all items in Wikidata. Each item also has a unique identifier (starting with a Q prefix) and its own page in the Wikidata main namespace. For example, for the items listed above, 1988 Summer Olympics (Q8470), love (Q316), Elvis Presley (Q303) and Gorilla (Q36611) are the respective item pages. These pages are where all the data for each item is added, edited, and maintained, including links to other Wikimedia project sites (these are known as sitelinks or interwiki links).
Each page has four sections:
- At the top is the Label, the Description and any aliases. You will see these in your selected language but Wikidata also has these in other languages. If you have Babel Box in your User page then you will see the label, description and aliases in the languages you have listed there.
- The next section of the item page are the statements. Each of these starts with a property. This followed by an value which will have one of the following datatypes;- an item, a date, a text string, a monolingual text, or a number (which may have units) . These values can have qualifiers - additional statements each with a property and an value - and a reference - statements describing where the main statement can be confirmed. Some times a property has two or more values each of which can have qualifiers and references.
- Next come the external identifiers, special forms of statements like the above, but supplying identifiers used in other databases (with links where possible).
- The next section of the page groups sitelinks. Links to the one page on each wiki which deals with the topic of this item. These sitelinks are used by various Wikimedia projects to create language links on the corresponding wiki pages. These links are also used to identify the item from which the wiki page can import statement info, for example to fill infoboxes.
This means that when it comes to capturing and collecting Wikivoyage data, each travel destination, for example, can be linked to an item on Wikidata, which in turn would then link out to every page for, corresponding to, or about that travel destination on any other Wikimedia project via sitelinks; the item page would also list data statements with facts related to the travel destination (like "capital", "currency", etc.). For example, one such travel destination item page could be Uttar Pradesh (Q1498).
Similar to items, statement properties are referenced with unique identifiers starting with a P (instead of a Q); for example, "capital" would be represented by capital (P36).
What does this mean?[edit]
Wikidata already holds data in many languages that can be re-used on multiple sister projects, and new data is constantly being added. Wikidata also enables content in sister projects to be enriched with additional facts and information (stored as data statements on item pages).
The choice to use this data is left entirely to the Wikivoyage community—future changes to the wiki software will only provide an option to retrieve information from Wikidata if desired.
Wikidata also offers sister projects the ability to manage sitelinks (aka as interwiki links) in one, centralized place. For all sister projects, sitelinks serve as a replacement for a previous system of interlanguage links that was used to link from a page in one language on Wikivoyage to an equivalent page in another language, for example the English Wikivoyage page on Turkey to the Vietnamese Wikivoyage page Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ. These interlanguage links used to be stored locally on each Wikivoyage page in the wikitext and maintained separately in each language so that if the name of a page changed or was moved, then pages in each language would need to have their links updated to reflect the changes. Sitelinks thereby improve upon this system by having everything stored and managed in Wikidata from an item page, in this case Turkey (Q43).
It is still possible, however, to keep the links in the wikitext and completely suppress all Wikidata links by using the magicword {{noexternallanglinks}}
if desired. The magic word also supports suppression of only specific languages, in the form of {{noexternallanglinks:es|fr|it}}
which would suppress only the Spanish, French, and Italian links.


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By Glynn Burridge
Seychelles' natural beauty has fascinated travellers for centuries, but this archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean – many of which still slumber in their original, pristine state – offers more than just beaches (though they are a great place to start). From aquatic adventures to lip-tingling Creole cuisine, local writer Glynn Burridge reveals six reasons to visit this tropical paradise.
Pure shores
The Seychelles' pristine stretches of sand are regularly ranked among the most beautiful in the world – and with minimal crowds, warm waters and blindingly white sands, it's easy to see why. Anse Lazio on Praslin Island is an eternal favourite among the island's sun worshippers for its 'away-from-it-all' setting and snorkelling opportunities, while La Digue's Anse Source D'argent is famous for its picture-perfect dappled turquoise waters and granite boulders.
The main island Mahé, has 65 beaches of its own. Topping the list are Anse Intendance, with its 2km strand and impressive breakers; laid-back Carana beach; Beau Vallon – which is very much the place to see and be seen – and the local's favourite Anse Royale in south Mahé. Top tip: whichever beach you end up at, be sure to check the surroundings for a beachside restaurant for that ultimate feet-in-the-sand dining experience.
Love is in the air
Prince William and Kate Middleton's choice of Seychelles for their honeymoon catapulted the islands to fame as the ultimate romantic getaway. With a wild, natural beauty and year-round tropical warmth, it's difficult to imagine a more perfect destination for weddings, honeymoons, anniversaries or even an impromptu romantic break. Being so close to the equator, the Seychelles has some of the most magical, coral-coloured sunsets, and if you head down to a solitary beach such as Mahé's Grand Anse, you can enjoy it with few people around. Top it off with a romantic dinner for two at Delplace's Restaurant, which has a bewitching panorama of an inland lagoon surrounded by a horseshoe of pretty islets.
Going green
Seychelles is home to a spectacular array of flora and fauna, including some of the world's rarest species. Don't miss a trip to Vallée de Mai – a Unesco World Heritage Site – on Praslin, where the world heaviest nut, the coco-de-mer, grows on ancient palms in a hidden valley. Back on Mahé, the Botanical Gardens on the outskirts of the capital, Victoria, offer a bite-sized experience of Seychelles' natural world and an impressive collection of endemic palms, the famous cannonball tree, and an old orchid garden. Nature lovers will also want to make the most of the network of walks and trails criss-crossing the islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue – but it is always advisable to take a guide and avoid the midday sun.
Water world
The saying goes that God made the Seychelles with sailors in mind, and viewing these islands from the ocean is difficult to beat. Start with a trip to Praslin or La Digue on the fast catamaran, Cat Cocos – you might even spot a dolphin or whale. Excursions are available from the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue to surrounding islands for swimming, snorkelling and beach barbecues. For the more adventurous, there are great thrills to be had on deep-sea fishing or diving expeditions. It's not uncommon to see up to 800 different species on a dive, including turtles, several species of ray, grouper, parrotfish, hump-head wrasse and a kaleidoscopic array of coral reef fish.
Culture trip
Seychelles' capital, Victoria, is easily explored in half a day. Start with an early morning visit to its traditional market to see the Seychellois Creole way of life – you'll spot locals doing their weekly shopping for fruit, vegetables, spices and fresh fish. Discover hidden art galleries like the ones on Market Street, where you can view paintings by local artists as well as find shops selling silk screens, colourful pareos (sarongs) and tropical shirts with island motifs. The capital is also home to a few museums – the Museum of Natural History is a great place to get a sense of the island's history, and is home to a collection of artefacts dating back to the island's earliest settlers.
Food for thought
French cuisine was brought to the islands by the first settlers and later added to by English colonists and influences from immigrants from India and China, making Creole cuisine a melting pot of cultures. Sample some of the best at Auberge Chez Plume, where the specialities including ginger crab and filet au capitaine (a coral reef fish similar to a bream) in a passionfruit sauce. For fine dining, book a table in advance at La Grande Maison, a totally refurbished old plantation house with beautiful gardens and an ambiance to match. Don't miss the freshly cut palm-heart salad with truffles and curry leaves (or the selection of fine rum). The island's night bazaars are also a great place to taste homemade local food and drinks, such as cassava chips, boudin (blood sausage), and bacca, a local sugarcane liquor.