Citizen Sensing in the Smart and Sustainable City – Gabrys
– “…the term “smart cities” derives from “smart growth,” a concept used in urban planning in the late 1990s to describe strategies for curtailing sprawl and inefficient resource use…” In some cities, even those who have “smart” initiatives, physical growth and expansion is necessary and already occurring (not suburbs, actual growth of the city) in order to keep up with a growing population. In what ways can we learn from sprawl, and manage a swelling city in a smart way?
– “The primary way in which sustainability is to be achieved within smart cities is through more efficient processes and responsive urban citizens participating in computational sensing and monitoring practices. Urban citizens become sensing nodes- or citizen sensors- within smart city proposals.” In both passive and active descriptions of citizens as sensors, people are viewed as data inputs to be mined, monitored and analyzed so much so that the “smart city” might forget that they are just that- people. Even if the citizens are willing to participate, is there a way to make them feel like they are more than just an instrument after the planning and development stages are complete? We have become accustomed to instant gratification, is this something to play into? In what ways can individuals and groups see immediate benefits (and consequences) for the city, themselves and others through their choices?
What’s so smart about the Smart Citizen? – Shepard, Simeti
– A control room for a smart city or dumb citizens; which is more of a risk? With the Smart City in a Box idea, there are many possibilies for something to go wrong. It may be hacked, it may fail after a power surge or natural distaster, it could be tampered with or damaged physically. If the whole brain of the smart city is in one box, what happens when that box is compromised? On the other hand, what happens if a smart city relies mainly on smart citizens to function and the citizens do not comply as they should?
– “Does leveraging social media and networked information systems really broaden participation, or merely provide another platform for proactive citizens already more likely to engage within the community?” Just how easy do we have to make it for people to participate? Is it constructive to offer participation to the idlest and ‘dumbest’ of citizens, or does the lack of an easy means of contribution and feedback further polarize and silence those who already do not have voices within their communities?