The Next Urban Paradigm: Cohabitation in the Smart City
Prof. Marcus Foth
QUT Design Lab
Queensland University of Technology
Conference Topic/s Relevant to this Proposal:Population issues in the New Economy
Type of Participation Proposed:Academic papers
ABSTRACT
Ubiquitous computing, mobile devices, and big data come together to give rise to a new urban paradigm being celebrated by many technology corporations and municipalities alike: the smart city. Yet, the general tenor of the current hype around smart cities is mainly about efficiency and productivity gains through automation and algorithmic analysis, and growth.
What evidence is there to suggest that the smart city can provide genuine answers to a number of wicked problems humanity faces?
The smart city agenda is only now starting to slowly move beyond the technology and data hype and come to terms with issues of housing affordability, digital inclusion, social justice. However, the list of challenges does not end here. Climate change already has a great impact on cities with a notable increase in adverse weather events, and some thought leaders actively seek to reconcile the smart city with the resilient city. A pertinent question to ask is whether the people-centric focus is in fact worth rethinking in order to imagine a new economy that embraces the post-anthropocentric city. With society’s current limited perspective that centres around humans, we risk to forget other living beings, the environment, and the wider ecosystem that keep us alive. Can we reconceptualise the smart city as a place where people and place meet to make a net positive contribution to the world?
This paper will dissect components that make up smart cities from cradle to grave and focus on questions of sustainability and a new economy in cities. It offers a critical review of examples and case studies with a view to widen the scope of the debate. Concluding remarks around citizen co-creation, co-habitation and participatory governance beg further questions about not just the future of cities, but the future of the economy and democracy.
biography
Professor Marcus Foth is the director of the QUT Design Lab and Professor of Urban Informatics in the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology. He is also an Honorary Professor in the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University, Denmark. Marcus has (co-)authored over 170 publications. In 2013, he received a Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award, and was made a fellow of the Australian Computer Society in 2017. The planning, design and development site Planetizen inducted him to the world’s top 25 leading thinkers and innovators in the field of urban planning and technology. He tweets @sunday9pm