Trouble at t’millA Luddite analysis of Smart[er] Cities?

Julian Dobson • Urban Pollinators

Luddite (n.)‘Person engaged in seeking to obstruct progress’Really?

‘In the foolishness of their hearts, they imagined that the maintenance and well-doing of the industrious poor were objects of a greater consequence than the enrichment of a few individuals...’~ Lord Byron, 1812

The Luddite agenda~ skills~ livelihoods~ communities

‘When capital enlists science in her service, the refractory hand of labour will always be taught docility.’~ Andrew Ure, 1835

Can slower be smarter?five principles for ‘smart cities’

Thought before technologyit’s too easy to do something because everyone else thinks a good idea

Conversation before controldo our technologies open up conversations or remove interaction?

The potential before the problemdo we regard cities as social problems to be solved, or as places of possibility?

Fun before fearare we applying technology to build quality of life, or to ‘deliver us from evil’?

Cities for the next generation100 years on, what will we think was smart?

Smarter sustainable livelihoodshow will we help people up the ‘livelihoods ladder’ - from surviving to coping, to adapting, to accumulating?

Smarter lifetime communitieshow is technology helping us create communities where people can stay throughout their lives?

Smarter civic networkingare we putting social tools in citizens’ hands and helping them learn how to use them to create change?

Smarter access to financehow can we build on the success of crowdfunding to create opportunities for enterprise?

Smarter ways to define valuehow can we ensure our cities encourage smarter perceptions of what creates social and economic value?

Smarter thinking on placekeepingif smart cities don’t preserve and sustain our natural environment, how smart can they claim to be?

Smart is a state of mindskills • livelihoods • communities