Smart citiesBackground literature

The concept

Is similar or overlaps with the following discourses in urban development(1): Wired Digital Intelligent Creative Telecommunicatio

n based Informational Knowledge based

E-governance Entrepreneurial

The concept cont.

It is also seen related to(2):

New urbanism Sustainable development Green development Livable communities Traditional neighborhood

development

The concept cont.

And seen in a more negative light as(3):

Capitalist development policy Part of economic development

discourse

“new smart growth coalitions, with power of contemporary economic development discourses, are reshaping urban natures to suit new consumption tastes through place marketing.”(Krueger, 2007)

Why smart city labeling(1)?

Actual infrastructure change Effective IT policies

Or

Marketing purposes

Meanings of intelligent city

Use of a wide range of electronic and digital applications

Use of information and communication technologies

linking ICTs and people to enhance innovation, learning, knowledge and problem solving

Smart growth

The concept addresses various social, ecological, spatial, and economic problems by

Use of innovative ICTs Architectural design and planning Creative cultural industries Social and environmental

sustainability Citizen participation

Is it really smart?

Some underlying assumptions:

IT transforms life and work within a region

Private sector will also prioritize goals of social inclusion and environmental and social sustainability

What makes a city smart?

The USA approach: Utilization of networked

infrastructure Emphasis on business led urban

development-domination of neo-liberal urban spaces

“ Only private capital can supply the large amounts of money needed to meet the growing demand for smart growth developments” (Smart Growth Network, 2007)

Cont.

European/Canadian interpretation of the concept adds other aspects: E-citizenship is committed to

ensuring that everyone can have access to ICTs and participate in the knowledge society

Helping entire community to go online in order to create specific services to address local objectives and advance collective skills

Cont.

Emphasize on art, digital media and culturally creative industries

Change towards environmental and social sustainability

Overall, smart can mean different things to different people.

Critics of the concept

It is technologically determined It is used as a smokescreen for

ushering in the business dominated informational city

It increases polarization and gentrification in the cities

Serves multinational corporations rather than local businesses

What to do now?

Smart growth needs to be explored at a conceptual level rather than on a tool by tool basis

Ongoing projects

Singapore:IT2015 initiative, following Intelligent Island Plan

Malaysia: Multimedia Super Corridor

South Korea: media city Blacksburg, Virginia: electronic

village San Diego:“City of the Future”

Ongoing projects cont.

Stockholm, Seattle, and Sacramento: large-scale public-access networks

Canada: ‘Smart Communities’ initiative

UK, Southampton: Multi application smart card

Brisbane, Australia: Sustainable brand of smart urbanism

“The 1997 World Forum on Smart Cities suggested that around 50,000 cities and towns around the world would develop smart initiatives over the next decade.” (Hollands, 2008)

Ongoing studies

http://cities.media.mit.edu/

Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century

New Object Studio GreenWheel Electric Bicycle Mobility-on-Demand CityCar Wheel Robots Scooter with ITRI and Sanyang Motors Liberated Pixels Contested Mobilities Space Explorers

Ongoing studies cont. Space Explorers Instrumented Landscapes Material Ecology Protopia Flexible Forms Athlete Concept Vehicle Zero Car Transology Digital Mile, Zaragoza, Spain e*Lens RATP Paris, France Cannes Reloaded PAC Miami Reactive Playgrounds