Data and the smart city: Critical perspectives

A number of examples discuss what it means to be ‘ smarter ‘ on BBC Radio 4 Podcast in smart cities reveals the implications of the innovation approach for residents living in the smart city of Songdo. The BBC Radio 4 Podcast demonstrates that there have been many technological and infrastructure improvements to the city to make it “smarter “: more secure, sustainable for community and economically beneficial to citizens of that city.

The first example is that in Songdo is the implementation of a smart waste system that enables waste and waste trucks to be eliminated, with 76 percent of the waste being recycled.The waste system collects waste from the kitchens directly to a refinery.this approach can be seen as sustaining the environment and would probably help to keep the atmosphere clean and more desirable for tourist.

 

The other example is in Songdo was designed to track sensors ‘ temperature, energy consumption and traffic. Such sensors could alert you directly if your bus is overdue. And notify the local government of any possible problems.Therefore, the government could use these sensors to reliably view the environment and its major pollutants helping citizens to understand the nuances of air pollution in their everyday lives.Some people see this as a solution to a safety environmental.

Despite these key improvements and a range of initiatives over the last decade,Songdo is also a town under constant surveillance 500 cameras provide a complete grid coverage to monitor traffic or detect’ suspicious’ behaviour. Even the opening of the sewer cover is immediately notified to the IFEZ control centre in one of the towers in Songdo.It shows much of the government’s effect and implication. (Le Monde.fr, 2020)

According to (Miller, 2011p 24) The implication is that smart solutions based on traffic data collected in one place are unlikely to be universally applicable.That means not everyone is in agreement with the government’s way. Therefore, people will contradict on the way of smart cities will operate as being only beneficial.

 

Reference

BBC News. (2020). Has ‘smart’ Songdo been a success?. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23757738 [Accessed 17 Feb. 2020)

Le Monde.fr. (2020). Songdo, ghetto for the affluent. [online] Available at: https://www.lemonde.fr/smart-cities/article/2017/05/29/songdo-ghetto-for-the-affluent_5135650_4811534.html [Accessed 17 Feb. 2020].

Miller, V. (2011) ‘Understanding Digital Culture’ Key Elements of Digital Media London,Sage publications. pp 24

 

 

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