Smart City Beyond Efficiency: Technology–Policy–Community at Play for Sustainable Urban Futures
Tan Yiğitcanlar
Abstract
Smart urbanisation has become a popular discourse in urban policy circles across the world. This is due to the raising popularity of the smart city notion; where its main premise is achieving heightened economic development, quality of life and sustainability through the use of digital data and technology for generating urban service efficiency. The smart city movement has created numerous initiatives globally, and almost all of them failed or lack of adequate potential to generate sustainable urban futures. The main reason behind this inadequacy is that current smart city practice portrays technologically determined and reductionist approaches to the city. These approaches overlook urban, human and social complexities, and create conditions for new forms of social control, increased social inequality and marginalisation. This commentary highlights the fundamental shortfalls around smart city conceptualisation and practice, and points out to an approach—i.e., utilising technology, policy and community as interconnected and balanced drivers—for securing sustainable urban futures for all.