Week 11: Do Smart Cities = Better Cities?

Rio de Janeiro central command brought to you by, IBM. 

The "Smart" in Smart Cities exemplifies every issue with utopian approaches to complex issues. It’s a buzz word of packaged virtues (see also "green"), a tool of wealth, improving services for those who afford them. The utopian goals profess equity without clarity. Can you smart-sense hunger or neglect? Will eliminating more waste redirect it for good? Likely, no.

More data will not magically equate to better decisions, rather provide justification for continued poor decisions. We collect volumes of ignored data—the issue isn’t data. Data-driven decision making is pure business-speak. While potentially tempered with compassion, rarely are faces reflected in numbers on a screen. Smart cities deeply embroil the private in public. Smart city promotion passes authority without accountability to the few capable multi-nationals (IBM & Cisco) just like large-scale infrastructure / logistical projects (Halliburton).

Given smart-project’s costs—what are the social opportunity costs when most cities are struggling to meet basic services and allowing both physical (bridges, rails, levees) and social infrastructure (schools, parks, hospitals) to degrade. Will these networks increase efficiency? Likely, yes. Will that efficiency equate to better deployment of resources? Likely, no.

Because we are smart does not make us good. Our ethics rarely lead our science frequently at the cost of our humanity.