The perception of smart cities was brought to us as a potential resolution to the challenges posed by urbanisation. It is also valid to note that the academic community has no common agreement on the exact definition of smart city. It is possible to find several publications and various business reports that converges on reviewing and proposing definitions on the concept of “smart”.
Smart city can be defined as the involvement of the use of information and communication technologies to enhance the quality of urban life with decreased cost and resource consumption [1]. According to a model originally developed by Giffinger et al. 2007, smart cities can be grouped into six categories or characteristics such as mobility, economy, governance, living, people and the environment. Residents are essentially the fundamental part of a city’s development as improving the quality of life for the residents will have a direct impact in developing a smart city [2]. The market for smart cities is estimated to reach over $2 trillion by 2025 with artificial intelligence forming as a significant foundation to the growth [3]. Furthermore, In accordance to the research done by business consulting and market research firm Frost & Sullivan, AI, distributed energy generation, personalised healthcare and robotics will be among the vital technologies to increase growth, efficiency, connectivity and urbanisation [4]. In the context of a globally mobile anomaly, an inherent element of a smart city is its discourse: how it shapes concepts and programs and is a principal means in which ideas and practices are borrowed, transmitted and replicated within different geographical, cultural and institutional settings [5]. From a contrasting outlook, it is significant that smart city discourse characterizes citizens as consumers rather than as political actors as when developing a smart city service, an absolute focus on the customer is needed. Citizens as consumers are necessary to express their opinion on the quality of services as a data or feedback providers [6].
The knowledge and innovation economy are primary operator for the smart city discourse. Growth in technological advancement of the recent decade would not have had a significant impact on the cities if they had not rooted their development in knowledge and innovation. The current development in influential sectors towards smart cities have created a prospect of smart cities in which cumulative intelligence, problem solving, innovation and the use of smart devices and networks offer progressive city functionality and an optimal performance. The landscape of smart cities are significantly sophisticated and open to creative thinking and new solutions. This is as a result of the character of digital direction that offers immense alternative solutions and spaces. [7]
Smart Cities are intricate sociotechnical systems and play an essential role in delivering an abundance of services to more than half of the world’s population.
Conventional urban governance was the most effective and ideal solution for a long time but due to the reliance on political leaders’ agendas, the ineptitude to adapt and recognise the emergent behaviour of the system, focusing on a smarter urban governance system with the help of technological innovations in ICTs can contribute to fixing and adequately addressing shortcomings. Technology can now assist more smartly by taking advantage of the data, computation power and crowd participation opportunities [8].
In conclusion, the initiation of technological innovations in the urban system under the umbrella term of smart city solutions provides new opportunities and contributes to improving the performance of cities. In order to reap the potential benefits of technological innovations, more developments are needed on the scope of urban governance systems. Conventional urban governance approaches will need to be replaced with smarter urban governance systems that make use of the development in the information and communication technologies while also addressing the changes in the socio-political culture of societies.
Group Work
For my group work I decided to focus on creating a surveillance-proof wearable device that confuses tracking technologies. The device will be called Minutes. The concept will be a wearable watch with the hands inside which has the capability of jamming GPS and tracking. The watch will need to be charged but once it is being used it will interfere with the GPS and confuse the signals. It can also be turned off and in appearance it will just be a normal watch.
As a media designer to engage with smart cities means designing for citizens and using data to better match the needs of the user. By using real time data on how people use public spaces and infrastructure can help us develop spaces that meet user needs. As a digital designer I can use Data and modelling tools to save time and potentially money by testing designs before they enter the construction process.
References
[1] Ejaz, W. and Anpalagan, A. (2019). Internet of things for smart cities. [Miejsce nieznane]: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
[2] Pinochet, L., Romani, G., de Souza, C. and Rodríguez-Abitia, G. (2019). Intention to live in a smart city based on its characteristics in the perception by the young public. Revista de Gestão, 26(1), pp.73-92.
[3] Smart Cities World. (n.d.). Smart cities market to be worth over $2 trillion by 2025. [online] Available at: https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/smart-cities-market-to-be-worth-over-2-trillion-by-2025-2785 [Accessed 1 Dec. 2019].
[4] Ww2.frost.com. (2020). [online] Available at: https://ww2.frost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SmartCities.pdf [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].
[5] Joss, S., Sengers, F., Schraven, D., Caprotti, F. and Dayot, Y. (2019). The Smart City as Global Discourse: Storylines and Critical Junctures across 27 Cities. Journal of Urban Technology, 26(1), pp.3-34.
[6] Grossi, G. and Pianezzi, D. (2017). Smart cities: Utopia or neoliberal ideology?. Cities, 69, pp.79-85.
[7] Komninos, N. (2011). Intelligent cities: Variable geometries of spatial intelligence. Intelligent Buildings International, 3(3), pp.172-188.
[8] Razaghi, M. and Finger, M. (2018). Smart Governance for Smart Cities. Proceedings of the IEEE, 106(4), pp.680-689.
Images:
Anon, (2020). Parts Of A Watch | 101 Guide To Part Names Inside & Out. [online] Available at: https://bespokeunit.com/watches/watch-parts-guide/ [Accessed 9 Jan. 2020].
Professional Practices (Aby Jose) 