مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد نوآوری و هویت در نسل بعدی شهرهای هوشمند – الزویر ۲۰۱۷

Cultural nuance, human behaviour and social identity require greater attention within the emerging smart city phenomenon. This special issue critically considers identity and urban culture as central to the smart city challenge. Current discourse on smart cities is obsessed with technological capability and development. Global rankings reduce cities to a one-dimensional business model and series of metrics. If the term ‘smart city’ is to have any enduring value, technology must be used to develop a city’s unique cultural identity and quality of life for the future. The editorial reviews emerging research on the cultural dimensions of urban innovation and smart cities and places the six special issue papers within a theoretical context. Each paper critiques smart city theories in relation to the practical challenge of enhancing urban identity, quality and value at a range of scales and geographic contexts. Three main themes are used to frame the debate on smart cities and urban innovation: 1) local development histories, 2) face-to-face relationships and 3) local community scales. Each of these themes is lacking in current smart city approaches and requires innovative approaches to integrate into the smart city of tomorrow.

Introduction

The world is experiencing a ῾smart city᾿ boom. New radical technologies have been integrated in smart cities to create an explosion of data flows that are described in today’s technical jargon as ῾big data᾿. In some ways, the term is disingenuous, as these data flows are so immense they are changing the face of the global economy (Kenney & Zysman, 2016). The most valuable resource in the world is ῾no longer oil, but data (The Economist, 2017)᾿. A new economy and networked business model have emerged to tap value from this growing asset. Cities are playing catch-up, learning how to negotiate big data and disruptive business models or platform capitalism by companies such as Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, Amazon, Uber, Airbnb and Microsoft. The data economy is a major driver of urban change. Smart cities are seeking to process and manage the real-time data flowing from new digital infrastructure and services. Today’s citizens carry a complex package of sensors and devices in their pockets. This technology is networked within the smart city to form an informational footprint of startling complexity. Smart cities, by definition, refer to the data economy, stimulation from ICTs and improved urban management from software algorithms integrated within the urban fabric (Kitchin, 2014). As noted by Kitchin (2014), smart cities are ῾increasingly driven by technically inspired innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship᾿ (p. 131). However, a technocratic focus will not deliver the outcomes that are necessary to create more liveable cities that innovate across all areas of society, from the environmental to social and economic areas. First-generation smart cities have inspired research into digital technologies and their business potential. However, is this technologyand-business-based focus enough? Vanolo (2016) argues that urban innovation also rests in a city’s social infrastructure and that current smart city approaches situate the citizen as a subaltern. Social and governance networks help cities manage the risks associated with innovation, unexpected events and contextual factors. A more balanced application of technology will help smart cities negotiate this uncertain future. Smart cities must therefore be imagined in terms of their cultural and social innovations as much as their technical and economic prowess. The human experience within smart cities has been fundamentally altered. Much as the car and the train changed the outlook and cosmopolitan make-up of cities in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, so has today’s digital landscape shifted our sense of space and human relations through social media, GPS augmented reality and platform urbanism. This new realty is as challenging and disorientating as it is empowering. This special issue considers different approaches to innovation in smart cities.