The idea of the smart city isn’t new. It’s typically been used by corporations to sell the utopian city of the future. When people use the term smart city, it’s usually to describe the use of data and technology in cities. And whether we call them smart cities, intelligent cities, or data-driven cities doesn't really matter — they're here and have been for years.
Instead of being utopian, modern smart cities pose real challenges to society, democracy and sovereignty. In this video, Bianca Wylie outlines five approaches for a democratic and just smart city: open procurement, public education and engagement, responsible data management, a focus on local democracy and an agile policy process.
The urgency to consider these steps was taken to a whole new level in the fall of 2017 when it was announced that Sidewalk Labs, a sister company to Google, and Waterfront Toronto, a tripartite Canadian public corporation, would collaborate on a smart city project called Sidewalk Toronto.
Wylie insists that it’s important to look closely at how things play out in Toronto not only for the sake of Toronto and its residents, but for other cities too because most governments don’t have the policies in place to regulate smart city development — this presents a growing global governance concern.
Wylie concludes that data and technology in any city shouldn't be there to track, monitor, profile and profit from residents. Instead, it must support local needs, democratically informed policy and social justice. And if this isn't what's for sale — then cities should stop buying.
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