Program Earth: Digital Infrastructures of Withness – Gabrys
– “How are we with the (smart) city, its infrastructure, its other inhabitants, and the many computational devices that would steer us, when emphasis is placed on coordinating ows of movement so that stoppage, disruption, breakage, and jamming are minimized? What is the withness of a ceaselessly owing city, of a city that never stops, that in its automated e ciency continues to process goods, information, and waste in the small hours of the night? Clearly, to discuss digital infrastructures of withness then also requires attending to infrastructure as pro- cess.”
– This concept of ‘with-ness’ between urban engagements and its citizens is interesting to look at currently, how are citizens currently “with” the city they inhabit?
– What are some steps that we as participating citizens of an urban environment could take in the direction of ‘with-ness’ rather than ‘self-ness’ and become a bigger role in process infrastructure?
Smart cities and the politics of Urban Date – Kitchen, Lauriault & McArdle
– In the reading, they mention that some municipalities believe in certain politics of indicator, benchmarking and dashboard initiatives like “rational, mechanical, linear and hierarchical” managerial systems that can easily controlled while others believe in more contextual, unpredictable, interdependental systems.
– Are we looking for a middle ground between these different forms of governance?
– What are some ways we see these different forms of governance right now, and how are they affecting citizens and cities?