The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future

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Ben Green (PhD candidate, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) Jascha Franklin-Hodge (Chief Information Officer at City of Boston)

The Smart Enough City

Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future

Ben Green (PhD candidate, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), Jascha Franklin-Hodge (Chief Information Officer at City of Boston)

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English

MIT Press
18 February 2020

City & town planning - architectural aspects; Impact of science & technology on society; Urban & municipal planning

Series: Strong Ideas

Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be ""smart enough,"" using technology to promote democracy and equity.

Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will relieve congestion, restore democracy, prevent crime, and improve public services. In The Smart Enough City, Ben Green warns against seeing the city only through the lens of technology; taking an exclusively technical view of urban life will lead to cities that appear smart but under the surface are rife with injustice and inequality. He proposes instead that cities strive to be ""smart enough""- to embrace technology as a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other forms of social change-but not to value technology as an end in itself.

In a technology-centric smart city, self-driving cars have the run of downtown and force out pedestrians, civic engagement is limited to requesting services through an app, police use algorithms to justify and perpetuate racist practices, and governments and private companies surveil public space to control behavior. Green describes smart city efforts gone wrong but also smart enough alternatives, attainable with the help of technology but not reducible to technology- a livable city, a democratic city, a just city, a responsible city, and an innovative city. By recognizing the complexity of urban life rather than merely seeing the city as something to optimize, these Smart Enough Cities successfully incorporate technology into a holistic vision of justice and equity.

By: Ben Green (PhD candidate Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)
Foreword by: Jascha Franklin-Hodge (Chief Information Officer at City of Boston)
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 14mm
ISBN: 9780262538961
ISBN 10: 0262538962
Series: Strong Ideas
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 18 February 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ben Green is an Affiliate and former Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and a PhD candidate in Applied Mathematics at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. From 2016 to 2017 he was a Data Scientist in the City of Boston's Department of Innovation and Technology.