'The Worlding and Provincialising Of Singapore as a “Smart Nation”' by Orlando Woods (Singapore Management University) and chaired by Prof Michael Charney (SOAS) was held online at SOAS on 28th February 2023.
Since being launched in 2014, Singapore’s “Smart Nation” initiative has becoming a guiding logic for the city-state’s next era of technologically-determined urban development. As much as it has caused Singapore to strengthen its ties with leading smart cities around the world, so too does it encourage reflection of the idiosyncrasies of the Singapore case, and how Singapore is both “worlded” and “provincialised” by its smart transition. Drawing on ongoing qualitative research conducted amongst the architects of the Smart Nation from both the public and private sectors, this seminar will situate Singapore within the global networks of talent, solutions and ideas that not only implicate smart cities, but the digital transformation of society and industry as well. I will consider how Singapore’s unique politico-geographical characteristics – especially its single-layer of, and highly centralised, government – has enabled it to embed the rhetoric of smartness into the fabric of the city, society, government and industry. At the same time, I will consider how the headwinds facing the realisation of the Smart Nation might not necessarily be unique to Singapore, but are more generalisable trends experienced throughout the urban world. Finally, I will consider the role that Singapore plays in galvanising smart city development in Southeast Asia.
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