Surajit Chakravarty, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; Jocelyn Cranefield, Victoria University Wellington
Posted: February 28, 2022 Accepted Languages: English/Inglés/Inglês
Smart cities, the technologies they use, and the data they generate, create unique challenges for governance and public policy. One set of issues is related to the selection and adoption of technology (for example ownership of data, protection of citizens’ rights, limits of surveillance etc.) Another set is related to interventions in the built environment, including issues related to the planning processes, public participation, and appropriate design. Further, institutions responsible for finance and implementation also face new challenges, such as the oversight of consultants, the question of obsolescence, accountability etc. How governments deal with these challenges differs widely around the world. Depending on the quality of planning, the priorities of the state, and the values that guide policy-makers, Smart Cities can either enhance livability and quality of life, or they can reproduce systemic inequities, increase spatial injustice, and infringe on citizens’ rights.
This panel invites papers that recognize the multi-sectoral and inter-governmental nature of Smart City governance, particularly the interaction between the spatial, institutional and regulatory dimensions. We are interested in empirical studies that deal with the framing of technological solutions, state narratives, the fine-print of plans and policies, the planning process, efficacy of design interventions, the role of the private sector, interactions with agencies of global capital etc. We welcome studies from all disciplines and methodological orientations as long as they address the panel’s main concerns. Scholars from the global South are strongly encouraged to contribute to the panel.
