Keystone Practices to Enable Smart Cities to Flourish
Keywords:
Data ethics, trust-building, codesign, creative ecology, community building, resilience, urban ecology
Abstract
This paper draws on the notion of creative urban ecologies as a way to characterize a thriving ‘smart’ city both in terms of the technology and data in use and also in terms of the city’s capacity to learn and adapt. What does it take for a city and her inhabitants to remain resilient in the face of challenges like climate change or disease outbreaks? How does a global city use data effectively to deal with situations where information will inevitably remain incomplete, uncertain and dynamic? How can and should data serve the ultimate end goal of urban well-being? Drawing on the author’s own engagements with creative information practices, data ethics and trust-building strategies, the paper presents a human-centred approach to ‘smart city’ initiatives. Creating smarter cities calls upon us to work with a complex and ever-evolving mix of people within a built environment constructed upon an existing ecosystem using ever ‘smarter’ technologies. Thriving in and adapting to change in such contexts involves a capacity for imaginative problem solving and problem finding as much as it involves technical know-how. The paper offers a framework for building resilience into the fabric of an urban ecology, introducing four critical operating principles, and closes by speculating how supporting five keystone practices can create a city that is ‘smart’, sustainable and compassionate.
References
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Anderson, T.D. (2006). Uncertainty in action: Observing information seeking within the creative processes of scholarly research. Information Research, 12(1) paper 283. Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/12-1/paper283.html.
-----. (2010) Mobile design: Giving voice to children and young people. In: Donald, S. H., Anderson, T. D., & Spry, D. (Eds.). Youth, society and mobile media in Asia. London: Routledge. 135-151.
-----. (2011) Beyond eureka moments: Supporting the invisible work of creativity and innovation. Information Research. 16(1) paper 471. http://InformationR.net/ir/16-1/paper471.html.
-----. (2013) The 4Ps of innovation culture: Conceptions of creatively engaging with information. Information Research, 18(3) paper C28. Available: http://www.informationr.net/ir/18-3/colis/paperC28.html.
Bateson, G. (1987) Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Northvale, NJ & London: Jason Aronson.
Boholm, A. (2015) Anthropology and Risk. London: Routledge.
Bulletin Science and Security Board (April 15, 2020) “COVID-19 and the Doomsday Clock: Observations on managing global risk”, Available: https://thebulletin.org/2020/04/covid-19-and-the-doomsday-clock-observations-on-managing-global-risk/
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Carroll, S. R., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., & Martinez, A. (2019) Indigenous Data Governance: Strategies from United States Native Nations. Data Science Journal, 18(1), 31. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2019-03
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Deakin Crick, R. & Goldspink, C. (2014) Learner dispositions, self-theories and student engagement. British Journal of Educational Studies, 62:1: 19-35.
Deakin Crick, R., Haigney, D., Huang, S., Coburn, T. & Goldspink, C. (2013) Learning power in the workplace: The effective lifelong learning inventory and its reliability and validity and implications for learning and development. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24:11, 2255-2272.
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Florida, R. (2001) The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books.
-----. (2012) The Rise of the Creative Class, Revisited, New York: Basic Books.
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-----. (2019b) The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future. Boston: The MIT Press.
Green, H. & Hannon, C. (2007) Their space: Education for a digital generation [Pamphlet] Retrieved from http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Their%20space%20-%20web.pdf.
Hill, Adrian V (ed.) (2020) Foundries of the Future: A Guide to 21st Century Cities of Making. With contributions by: Ben Croxford, Teresa Domenech, Birgit Hausleitner, Adrian Vickery Hill, Han Meyer, Alexandre Orban, Víctor Muñoz Sanz, Fabio Vanin and Josie Warden. Delft. TU Delft Open, 2020.
Howkins, J. (2009) Creative Ecologies: Where Thinking is a Proper Job. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.
Jones, B. (1984) Facing the brave new world: Will the sleepers wake in time?” In Randell, S. (ed.). The Human Face of Technological Change: Theme Papers from the Silver Jubilee Conference of the Australian College of Education (25th, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, May 5-9, 1984). Carlton VIC: Australian College of Education. pp. 13-20. ISBN 0909587329.
Keye, M. D., & Pidgeon, A. M. (2013) Investigation of the relationship between resilience, mindfulness, and academic self-efficacy. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 1(06): 1-4.
Levy, D. M. (2007) No time to think: Reflections on information technology and contemplative scholarship. Ethics and Information Technology, 9(4): 237-249.
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000) The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child development, 71(3): 543-562.
Maguen, S., Papa, A., & Litz, B. T. (2008) Coping with the threat of terrorism: A review. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 21(1): 15-35.
Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (2003) A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In S.S. Luthar (Ed.) Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities New York: Cambridge University Press, 1-25.
Matson, J. V. (1990) Failure as part of the success equation. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 24(4): 275-278.
Mecklin, John (Editor) (2020) Closer than Ever: It is 100 seconds to midnight. 2020 Doomsday Clock Statement, Science and Security Board Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Editor, John Mecklin
https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-Doomsday-Clock-statement.pdf
https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time
Meneely, J., & Portillo, M. (2005) The adaptable mind in design: Relating personality, cognitive style, and creative performance. Creativity Research Journal, 17(2-3): 155-166.
Metzl, E. S., & Morrell, M. A. (2008) The role of creativity in models of resilience: Theoretical exploration and practical applications. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3(3): 303-318.
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India (2020) Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0, Available https://smartnet.niua.org/csc/assets/pdf/CSCAF_2_Booklet.pdf
Moyle, K. (2010) Building innovation: Learning with technologies. Australian Education Review, Number 56. Retrieved from http://research.acer.edu.au/aer/10.
Nardi, B. & O’Day, L. (1999) Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Newbigin, J. (2010) The Creative Economy: An Introductory Guide. British Council’s Creative And Cultural Economy Series, London: British Council. Available https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/media/uploads/files/English_GuideToolkit_30_withCoverLR.pdf
OECD (2017) Embracing Innovation in Government Global Trends. World Government SummitDubai, United Arab Emirates, 12-14 February 2017 Available:
https://www.oecd.org/gov/innovative-government/embracing-innovation-in-government.pdf
----- (2020) Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth. Building on the outcomes of the 1st OECD Roundtable on Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth. Available: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/cities/OECD_Policy_Paper_Smart_Cities_and_Inclusive_Growth.pdf
Parmar, R., Mackenzie, I., Cohn, D., & Gann, D. (2014). The New Patterns of Innovation. Harvard Business Review, 92(1-2), 86-95.
Pratt, A. C. (2012) A world turned upside down: The creative economy, cities and the new austerity. In: A. Beauclair & E. Mitchell (Eds), Smart, Creative, Sustainable, Inclusive: Territorial Development Strategies in the Age of Austerity,. Brighton: Regional Studies Association, 13-19.
Riedl, Denise Linn (June 2020) Toward Inclusive Urban Technology. Evanston, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. https://www.benton.org/publications/inclusive-urban-tech
Robinson, K. (2009) The Element (written with Lou Aronica). London: Penguin.
Robinson, M. (2010) Making adaptive resilience real. Arts Council, England. Available http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/making_adaptive_resilience_real.pdf.
Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts Manufactures & Commerce (RSA) (2006) Promoting Innovation and rewarding creativity: A Balanced Intellectual Property Framework for the Digital Age. London: RSA.
Standards Australia (2020) Smart Cities Standards Roadmap, available: https://www.standards.org.au/getmedia/bfe42f98-011e-4798-8fa5-5b70c8a2a6bd/SA_Smart_Cities_Roadmap.pdf.aspx)
Tims, C. & Wright, S. (2007) So What Do You Do? A New Question for Policy in the Creative Sector. London: Demos. Retrieved 30 September, 2013 from http://creative-blueprint.co.uk/library/item/so-what-do-you-do.
Thorpe, J, (2016, 19 Nov) Turning Data Around, Medium, Available: https://medium.com/memo-random/turning-data-around-7acea1f7479c
Wallerstein, I. (1998) Uncertainty and creativity. The American Behavioral Scientist, 42(3): 320-322.
Wolin, S. J., & Wolin, S. (2010) The Resilient Self: How Survivors of Troubled Families Rise Above Adversity. New York: Villard.
Wright, S., Newbigin, J., Kieffer, J., Holden, J. & Bewick, T. (Eds) (2009) After the Crunch, Creative & Cultural Skills and Counterpoint, British Council Think Tank. Retrieved from http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/media/uploads/resources/russia-projects-creative-economy-after-the-crunch.pdf.
Published
2021-03-27
Section
Articles
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