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Smart and sustainable? : Five tensions in the visions and practices of the smart-sustainable city in Europe and North America

Martin, Chris ; Evans, James and Karvonen, Andrew LU (2018) In Technological Forecasting and Social Change 133. p.269-278
Abstract
Smart cities are increasingly advocated by governments and the private sector as the primary means to deliver urban sustainability. Particularly in Europe and North America, the smart city is envisioned as a place where digital technologies are deployed to ‘solve’ urban sustainability problems. Such visions have been broadly cri- tiqued in the urban studies literature for reflecting techno-utopian, neoliberal approaches to urban development that exert corporate control over cities, but there has been little empirical verification of these critiques. More recently, a disparate and interdisciplinary body of literature has emerged documenting the impacts of smart city initiatives in practice. This paper provides a state-of-the-art,... (More)
Smart cities are increasingly advocated by governments and the private sector as the primary means to deliver urban sustainability. Particularly in Europe and North America, the smart city is envisioned as a place where digital technologies are deployed to ‘solve’ urban sustainability problems. Such visions have been broadly cri- tiqued in the urban studies literature for reflecting techno-utopian, neoliberal approaches to urban development that exert corporate control over cities, but there has been little empirical verification of these critiques. More recently, a disparate and interdisciplinary body of literature has emerged documenting the impacts of smart city initiatives in practice. This paper provides a state-of-the-art, empirically informed analysis of smart-sustain- ability, which considers established critiques of smart city policy and visions alongside the increasing body of evidence concerning the actual experiences of smart city initiatives. Through a systematic review of the smart city literature pertaining to Europe and North America, we identify and test five tensions between the smart city and the goals of sustainable urban development. These tensions involve: (1) reinforcing neoliberal economic growth; (2) focusing on more affluent populations; (3) disempowering and marginalising citizens; (4) neglecting environmental protection; and, (5) failing to challenge prevailing consumerist cultures. On the basis of these findings we propose how digital technologists, urban developers, municipalities and citizens might address these tensions. A key finding is that the potential to empower and include citizens represents the key to unlocking forms of smart-sustainable urban development that emphasise environmental protection and social equity, ra- ther than merely reinforcing neoliberal forms of urban development. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Smart cities, Sustainable urban development, Sustainable development, Smart sustainability, Visions, Practices
in
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
volume
133
pages
10 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85041373193
ISSN
0040-1625
DOI
10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.005
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
6f5a6175-62f8-4a2b-ae68-b231a8969e6d
date added to LUP
2021-11-21 08:09:32
date last changed
2022-04-27 05:49:15
@article{6f5a6175-62f8-4a2b-ae68-b231a8969e6d,
  abstract     = {{Smart cities are increasingly advocated by governments and the private sector as the primary means to deliver urban sustainability. Particularly in Europe and North America, the smart city is envisioned as a place where digital technologies are deployed to ‘solve’ urban sustainability problems. Such visions have been broadly cri- tiqued in the urban studies literature for reflecting techno-utopian, neoliberal approaches to urban development that exert corporate control over cities, but there has been little empirical verification of these critiques. More recently, a disparate and interdisciplinary body of literature has emerged documenting the impacts of smart city initiatives in practice. This paper provides a state-of-the-art, empirically informed analysis of smart-sustain- ability, which considers established critiques of smart city policy and visions alongside the increasing body of evidence concerning the actual experiences of smart city initiatives. Through a systematic review of the smart city literature pertaining to Europe and North America, we identify and test five tensions between the smart city and the goals of sustainable urban development. These tensions involve: (1) reinforcing neoliberal economic growth; (2) focusing on more affluent populations; (3) disempowering and marginalising citizens; (4) neglecting environmental protection; and, (5) failing to challenge prevailing consumerist cultures. On the basis of these findings we propose how digital technologists, urban developers, municipalities and citizens might address these tensions. A key finding is that the potential to empower and include citizens represents the key to unlocking forms of smart-sustainable urban development that emphasise environmental protection and social equity, ra- ther than merely reinforcing neoliberal forms of urban development.}},
  author       = {{Martin, Chris and Evans, James and Karvonen, Andrew}},
  issn         = {{0040-1625}},
  keywords     = {{Smart cities; Sustainable urban development; Sustainable development; Smart sustainability; Visions; Practices}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{269--278}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Technological Forecasting and Social Change}},
  title        = {{Smart and sustainable? : Five tensions in the visions and practices of the smart-sustainable city in Europe and North America}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.005}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.005}},
  volume       = {{133}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}