Wicked Problems of Smart Cities
2019
Johan Colding | Stephan Barthel | Patrik Sörqvist
It is often uncritically assumed that, when digital technologies are integrated into the operation of city functions, they inevitably contribute to sustainable urban development. Such a notion rests largely on the belief that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions pave the way for more democratic forms of planning, and that &lsquo:smart&rsquo: technological devices result in a range of environmental benefits, e.g., energy efficiency and the mitigation of global warming. Drawing on the scientific literature that deals with &lsquo:smart cities&rsquo:, we here elaborate on how both propositions fail to consider drawbacks that could be characterized as &lsquo:wicked&rsquo:, i.e., problems that lack simplistic solutions and straightforward planning responses, and which often come about as &lsquo:management surprises&rsquo:, as a byproduct of achieving sustainability. We here deal with problems related to public choice constraints, &lsquo:non-choice default technologies&rsquo: and the costs of automation for human learning and resilience. To avoid undemocratic forms of planning and too strong a dependence on non-choice default technologies, e.g., smart phones, we recommend that planners and policy makers safeguard redundancy in public-choice options by maintaining a wide range of alternative choices, including analog ones. Resilience thinking could help planners deal more effectively with the &lsquo:wickedness&rsquo: of an increasingly hyper-connected society.
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