The Smart Enough City
Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be “smart enough,” using technology to promote democracy and equity. Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence wi...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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The MIT Press
2022
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| Online Access: | ONIX_20220221_9780262352246_80 |
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| _version_ | 1869518669140197376 |
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| author | Green, Ben |
| author_browse | Green, Ben |
| author_facet | Green, Ben |
| author_sort | Green, Ben |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be “smart enough,” using technology to promote democracy and equity. Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will relieve congestion, restore democracy, prevent crime, and improve public services. In The Smart Enough City, Ben Green warns against seeing the city only through the lens of technology; taking an exclusively technical view of urban life will lead to cities that appear smart but under the surface are rife with injustice and inequality. He proposes instead that cities strive to be “smart enough”: to embrace technology as a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other forms of social change—but not to value technology as an end in itself. In a technology-centric smart city, self-driving cars have the run of downtown and force out pedestrians, civic engagement is limited to requesting services through an app, police use algorithms to justify and perpetuate racist practices, and governments and private companies surveil public space to control behavior. Green describes smart city efforts gone wrong but also smart enough alternatives, attainable with the help of technology but not reducible to technology: a livable city, a democratic city, a just city, a responsible city, and an innovative city. By recognizing the complexity of urban life rather than merely seeing the city as something to optimize, these Smart Enough Cities successfully incorporate technology into a holistic vision of justice and equity. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-78560 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | The MIT Press |
| publisherStr | The MIT Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-785602024-04-09T23:15:21Z The Smart Enough City Green, Ben smart cities technology machine learning innovation urban apps artificial intelligence democracy urban design criminal justice policing politics social change technological determinism thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMV Landscape architecture and design::AMVD City and town planning: architectural aspects Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be “smart enough,” using technology to promote democracy and equity. Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will relieve congestion, restore democracy, prevent crime, and improve public services. In The Smart Enough City, Ben Green warns against seeing the city only through the lens of technology; taking an exclusively technical view of urban life will lead to cities that appear smart but under the surface are rife with injustice and inequality. He proposes instead that cities strive to be “smart enough”: to embrace technology as a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other forms of social change—but not to value technology as an end in itself. In a technology-centric smart city, self-driving cars have the run of downtown and force out pedestrians, civic engagement is limited to requesting services through an app, police use algorithms to justify and perpetuate racist practices, and governments and private companies surveil public space to control behavior. Green describes smart city efforts gone wrong but also smart enough alternatives, attainable with the help of technology but not reducible to technology: a livable city, a democratic city, a just city, a responsible city, and an innovative city. By recognizing the complexity of urban life rather than merely seeing the city as something to optimize, these Smart Enough Cities successfully incorporate technology into a holistic vision of justice and equity. 2022-02-21T15:11:48Z 2022-02-21T15:11:48Z 2019 book ONIX_20220221_9780262352246_80 9780262352246 9780262039673 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/78560 eng Strong Ideas image/jpeg n/a https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11555.001.0001 The MIT Press The MIT Press 10.7551/mitpress/11555.001.0001 10.7551/mitpress/11555.001.0001 ae0cf962-f685-4933-93d1-916defa5123d 9780262352246 9780262039673 The MIT Press 240 Cambridge open access |
| spellingShingle | smart cities technology machine learning innovation urban apps artificial intelligence democracy urban design criminal justice policing politics social change technological determinism thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMV Landscape architecture and design::AMVD City and town planning: architectural aspects Green, Ben The Smart Enough City |
| title | The Smart Enough City |
| title_full | The Smart Enough City |
| title_fullStr | The Smart Enough City |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Smart Enough City |
| title_short | The Smart Enough City |
| title_sort | smart enough city |
| topic | smart cities technology machine learning innovation urban apps artificial intelligence democracy urban design criminal justice policing politics social change technological determinism thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMV Landscape architecture and design::AMVD City and town planning: architectural aspects |
| topic_facet | smart cities technology machine learning innovation urban apps artificial intelligence democracy urban design criminal justice policing politics social change technological determinism thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RP Regional and area planning::RPC Urban and municipal planning and policy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PD Science: general issues::PDR Impact of science and technology on society thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMV Landscape architecture and design::AMVD City and town planning: architectural aspects |
| url | ONIX_20220221_9780262352246_80 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT greenben thesmartenoughcity AT greenben smartenoughcity |