Re: Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

[michael gurstein]

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

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[Tracey P. Lauriault]

See the work of Iyonna Datta, University of Leeds re-100 smart cities in India http://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/people/a.datta,

Also, on the topic of data, we need to consider procurement and data access as well as transparent algorithms.

On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 3:50 PM, michael gurstein <[hidden email]> wrote:

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

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[michael gurstein]

Tks, I`ve been following the India Smart Cities fairly closely, if from a distance…

 

The issue re: procurement and data access is how to make it accessible/usable at the local/community level and particularly for communities which don`t have data/tech skills…

 

Making procurement data available from what I`ve seen is great for biz suppliers but less useful since it generally lacks contextual info for end users/communities.

 

M

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Tracey P. Lauriault
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 8:16 AM
To: civicaccess discuss
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

See the work of Iyonna Datta, University of Leeds re-100 smart cities in India http://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/people/a.datta,

Also, on the topic of data, we need to consider procurement and data access as well as transparent algorithms.

 

On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 3:50 PM, michael gurstein <[hidden email]> wrote:

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

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Tracey P. Lauriault

http://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/progcity/contributors/tracey-p-lauriault/

https://gcrc.carleton.ca/confluence/display/GCRCWEB/Lauriault

http://datalibre.ca/
@TraceyLauriaut
Skype: Tracey.P.Lauriault

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[Jury Konga]

Hey Mike – great blog.. thanks for putting it together.  It’s a challenge for all of us to come up with solutions that are sustainable which means we need to balance the roles of public, private and non-profit sectors, civil society. academia, citizens and community groups.  It’s a complex ecosystem and it would be great if we could focus on community wellbeing – not just for the 1% but for everyone!

 

Cheers  Jury

 

Jury Konga, Principal

eGovFutures Group

 

Open Knowledge Foundation – Canada Ambassador

Canadian Open Data Institute – Co-Founder

Ontario IPC “Access by Design” Ambassador

 

Open by Design ^TM

 

Tel          [phone]

Cell         [phone]

Twtr       @jkonga

Skype    jury.konga

www.slideshare.net/jurykonga

 

Stouffville, Ontario. Canada

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein
Sent: November-07-14 10:50 AM
To: civicaccess discuss
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

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[michael gurstein]

Tks Jury,

 

One place to start is by moving the kinds of discussions one finds here (and in say Open Data discussion) out of the existing comfort zone and into discussions of how the data is to be used, by whom, under what conditions and ultimately who is benefiting…

 

M

 

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Jury Konga
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 8:29 AM
To: 'civicaccess discuss'
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

Hey Mike – great blog.. thanks for putting it together.  It’s a challenge for all of us to come up with solutions that are sustainable which means we need to balance the roles of public, private and non-profit sectors, civil society. academia, citizens and community groups.  It’s a complex ecosystem and it would be great if we could focus on community wellbeing – not just for the 1% but for everyone!

 

Cheers  Jury

 

Jury Konga, Principal

eGovFutures Group

 

Open Knowledge Foundation – Canada Ambassador

Canadian Open Data Institute – Co-Founder

Ontario IPC “Access by Design” Ambassador

 

Open by Design ^TM

 

Tel          [phone]

Cell         [phone]

Twtr       @jkonga

Skype    jury.konga

www.slideshare.net/jurykonga

 

Stouffville, Ontario. Canada

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein
Sent: November-07-14 10:50 AM
To: civicaccess discuss
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

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[David Eaves]

Hi Michael, 

Definitely agree on the smart city narrative - which was never a great from and has absolutely be controlled and/or lead by IBM and others. 

People on this list might find Dan Hills very smart (and long) post "Essay: On the smart city; Or, a 'manifesto' for smart citizens instead” a great read about this.

http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2013/02/on-the-smart-city-a-call-for-smart-citizens-instead.html

Hope people find this interesting.

Dave

On Nov 7, 2014, at 9:28 AM, michael gurstein <[hidden email]> wrote:

Tks Jury,

 

One place to start is by moving the kinds of discussions one finds here (and in say Open Data discussion) out of the existing comfort zone and into discussions of how the data is to be used, by whom, under what conditions and ultimately who is benefiting…

 

M

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Jury Konga
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 8:29 AM
To: 'civicaccess discuss'
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

Hey Mike – great blog.. thanks for putting it together.  It’s a challenge for all of us to come up with solutions that are sustainable which means we need to balance the roles of public, private and non-profit sectors, civil society. academia, citizens and community groups.  It’s a complex ecosystem and it would be great if we could focus on community wellbeing – not just for the 1% but for everyone!

 

Cheers  Jury

 

Jury Konga, Principal

eGovFutures Group

 

Open Knowledge Foundation – Canada Ambassador

Canadian Open Data Institute – Co-Founder

Ontario IPC “Access by Design” Ambassador

 

Open by Design ^TM

 

Tel          [phone]

Cell         [phone]

Twtr       @jkonga

Skype    jury.konga

www.slideshare.net/jurykonga

 

Stouffville, Ontario. Canada

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein
Sent: November-07-14 10:50 AM
To: civicaccess discuss
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

_______________________________________________
CivicAccess-discuss mailing list
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http://lists.pwd.ca/mailman/listinfo/civicaccess-discuss

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[Herb Lainchbury]

That link appears to be broken.  Here's a backup:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140920040916/http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2013/02/on-the-smart-city-a-call-for-smart-citizens-instead.html

Herb

On Mon, Nov 10, 2014 at 10:30 AM, David Eaves <[hidden email]> wrote:

Hi Michael, 

Definitely agree on the smart city narrative - which was never a great from and has absolutely be controlled and/or lead by IBM and others. 

People on this list might find Dan Hills very smart (and long) post "Essay: On the smart city; Or, a 'manifesto' for smart citizens instead” a great read about this.

http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2013/02/on-the-smart-city-a-call-for-smart-citizens-instead.html

Hope people find this interesting.

Dave

On Nov 7, 2014, at 9:28 AM, michael gurstein <[hidden email]> wrote:

Tks Jury,

 

One place to start is by moving the kinds of discussions one finds here (and in say Open Data discussion) out of the existing comfort zone and into discussions of how the data is to be used, by whom, under what conditions and ultimately who is benefiting…

 

M

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Jury Konga
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 8:29 AM
To: 'civicaccess discuss'
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

Hey Mike – great blog.. thanks for putting it together.  It’s a challenge for all of us to come up with solutions that are sustainable which means we need to balance the roles of public, private and non-profit sectors, civil society. academia, citizens and community groups.  It’s a complex ecosystem and it would be great if we could focus on community wellbeing – not just for the 1% but for everyone!

 

Cheers  Jury

 

Jury Konga, Principal

eGovFutures Group

 

Open Knowledge Foundation – Canada Ambassador

Canadian Open Data Institute – Co-Founder

Ontario IPC “Access by Design” Ambassador

 

Open by Design ^TM

 

Tel          <a href="tel:%28905%29640-7377" value="[phone]" target="_blank">[phone]

Cell         <a href="tel:%28647%29393-8045" value="[phone]" target="_blank">[phone]

Twtr       @jkonga

Skype    jury.konga

www.slideshare.net/jurykonga

 

Stouffville, Ontario. Canada

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein
Sent: November-07-14 10:50 AM
To: civicaccess discuss
Subject: Re: [CivicAccess-discuss] Blogpost: Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Enabling Markets or Empowering Citizens

 

http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/smart-cities-vs-smart-communities-enabling-markets-or-empowering-citizens/

 

Hmmm….

 

So “Smart Cities” particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

 

But another type of “Smart” program is possible–one that is focused on social inclusion, enabling citizens, supporting communities–a community informatics model.  This would be a smart program where the emphasis is on “Smart Communities” rather than “Smart Cities” and enabling and empowering citizens and supporting their individual and communal quests for well-being rather than turning cities into a series of cascading neo-liberalized markets–for services, for infrastructure, for shelter.

_______________________________________________
CivicAccess-discuss mailing list
[hidden email]
http://lists.pwd.ca/mailman/listinfo/civicaccess-discuss

_______________________________________________
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