Smart Cities

The MIT Press Essential Knowledge

by Germaine R. Halegoua

Key concepts, definitions, examples, and historical contexts for understanding smart cities, along with discussions of both drawbacks and benefits of this approach to urban problems.

Over the past ten years, urban planners, technology companies, and governments have promoted smart cities with a somewhat utopian vision of urban life made knowable and manageable through data collection and analysis. Emerging smart cities have become both crucibles and showrooms for the practical application of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and the integration of big data into everyday life. Are smart cities optimized, sustainable, digitally networked solutions to urban problems? Or are they neoliberal, corporate-controlled, undemocratic non-places? This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers a concise introduction to smart cities, presenting key concepts, definitions, examples, and historical contexts, along with discussions of both the drawbacks and the benefits of this approach to urban life.

After reviewing current terminology and justifications employed by technology designers, journalists, and researchers, the book describes three models for smart city development--smart-from-the-start cities, retrofitted cities, and social cities--and offers examples of each. It covers technologies and methods, including sensors, public wi-fi, big data, and smartphone apps, and discusses how developers conceive of interactions among the built environment, technological and urban infrastructures, citizens, and citizen engagement. Throughout, the author--who has studied smart cities around the world--argues that smart city developers should work more closely with local communities, recognizing their preexisting relationship to urban place and realizing the limits of technological fixes. Smartness is a means to an end: improving the quality of urban life.

Genres: Technology, Nonfiction, Cities, Audiobook

248 pages, Paperback

Published February 18, 2020

About the author

Germaine R. Halegoua is Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Kansas.

Reviews

[Michael Erickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, I'm no stranger to really dense academic nonfiction put out by publishers associated with universities. That's not what this was. This is +200 pages of buzzword soup that repeatedly skims the surface of an interesting topic without ever actually getting to a satisfactory depth. Here's what the majority of this book sounded like: "real-time data collection; urban revitalization; open source dashboards; environmental collaboration; smart technologies; internet of things; public safety; sustainable economics; corporate citizenship; transportation management; autonomous vehicles; etc.; etc.; etc."

What's a shame is that we get brief glimpses of interesting concepts that a reader would want to spend more time on. There are mentions about privacy concerns around streetlights that would only turn on at night if they detect someone with a smartphone nearby, or what happens if you build a new "smart-from-the-start" city and no one moves in. But like an automated monorail your city paid an alarming amount of money for, we instead get zipped along to the next place whether we're ready to or not.

This book kind of feels like it ultimately takes the side of the tech corporations it initially attempts to critique. Politicians will continue to get stars in their eyes and shell out taxpayer money for technologies that no one asked for, but that's okay because data privacy isn't that big of a deal anyway! Also found it curious how the companies that purvey these systems seem to have open contempt for the people that use them ("The problem with cities is that they're full of people" seems to be a recurring sentiment"). I also found it odd that a book about people who live in urban areas doesn't use the word "homeless" once. The future is coming, but only if you're rich enough to not get steamrolled by it apparently.

[Petty Lisbon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an informative textbook but a repetitive regular book. I liked learning about the concept of smart cities, how they are implemented, how citizens view them, and so on, but it felt like it went into list mode too often. There was no rhyme or reason for how examples would be focused on. Sometimes it would be written about in depth and followed up by a pair of 1 sentence examples.
I liked the critique on technologies, though. While some might argue that they're preaching to the choir, it was still interesting and informative. I liked the quotes for developers treating citizens like they're going to sabotage the "perfect" ideal smart city, smart cities turning citizens into things that produce metrics rather than quality (what website does that remind you of?), smart cities reducing citizen participation to taking pictures of potholes, and smart cities just being contract bidding wars for IT companies. If you would like to learn more about how to bring engineering, urban planning, or public administration into the future, I wouldn't suggest this book, but if you want to write a paper on public informatics, ethics in government, technology, urban planning, or public administration, then this would be the ideal book for you.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. Halegoua is from the second category: a minor bureaucrat who wouldn't mind a cut of the action, but who is pretty content with the current sinecure.

[хіхійка🚬 · Rating 2 out of 5]

я читала два останні розділи й було стійке відчуття наче я читала це ж саме речення, декілька сторінок тому, але в іншому формулюванні

[Gabriela Corbera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an impeccable read and my introduction to Smart Cities. Germaine does an exceptional job laying out a framework (models) of smart cities and assessing their design from the impact these models have on -- citizen output, stakeholder engagement, social justice, and equity.

There are several definitions provided in the first chapter of smart cities. It's an evolving movement, that has improved from the input of urban planners, citizens, engineers, sociologists, and anthropologists.

I particularly liked learning the models of smart cities, particularly Social Cities that imply heavy dimensions, activities of civic tech and participatory urban planning. This book is exceptional in its multitude of case studies presented. That I think is the richest part of this book. For a small, MIT Press Essential Knowledge Book, I think it has value.

I was very pleased with this Germaine's book. I recommend sustainable development professionals, urban planners, engaged citizens and urban designers to read this book.

[Matthias Noch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has one major issue. It was published in the wrong book-series.
The MIT Essential Knowledge series typically provides an excellent entry-point into a topic, containing 90 % knowledge and 10 % discussions of or opinions about the current state of implementation. For this book, this is switched; it gives with just 10 % barley the minimum of knowledge you need to understand the Smart City topic. Still, it discusses in 90 % of the book all the current issues with privacy, data protection, focus on smartphones and tech-savvy users, relying on large IT companies, and so on. All that is not bad and indeed a constructive critic of the current Smart City developments, but it is wrong in a book that shall help somebody new to this topic to understand the basics.

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry.

I'm not an expert on the topic, just a tech-savvy person and it feels like I've learned pretty much nothing (by reading this book). There's a simplistic model of smart city classification, there's a criticism of smartass BigTech that just want to sell their products, there's hype on digitization (w/o backing it up with meaningful value).

What's missing is: any kind of inspiration, reasonable examples of what a smart city could mean, meaningful success stories.

Not recommended.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some key takeaways in this book which state that smart cities have good intentions. However, the public-private partnerships tend to overvalue private entities' assumption of what customers want/are without real citizen input. As a result, what is rolled out is underused, its not applicable to citizens there, and all it tends to do is make profits or scrape data from citizens for private entity. Efforts to rename the term do not work.

In order for Smart Cities to truly take off, one must rethink how to get citizen input, how to not discriminate against the lower income and how to break racial barriers and provide cities for everyone, and ultimately think about what citizens want and not just make profits for the private investors.

It's quite valid and relevant and explains why smart cities still have not taken off.

[Hunter Radecki · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Audiobook]
This topic needs more love.

Unfortunately, the love wasn’t communicated properly here. This book did a great job at presenting the benefits of Smart Cities without advocating for a surveillance state. The author actually discussed all the downsides and misuse of power that couples the advancement of publicly placed technology. The community needs to be involved in these decisions, and that first step is education, so while I wish I could give this book a 5/5 to promote the dialogue, the book just read like an unorganized textbook.

Don’t be afraid to promote and defend your opinion, authors! Be subjective! Objectivity neutralizes discourse.

[Christina Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic overview. I appreciated the author's deliberately emotionless tone, but it means you have to read between the lines a lot to see what is actually being said. Like a butler with a stiff upper lip is hinting at a mutiny downstairs but isn't sure which side you're on. There are whispers of great alternatives to the way America is currently rolling this tech out in this book, but blink and you'll miss them.

[Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s all hypothetical bohockey and misses the point on how to elevate technology to make cities better and “smart” and it’s not by making every thing autonomous and connected digitally. There model is a Silicone Valley wet dream where the powerful don’t really need to care about the poor and needy but only in creating some killer tech that “helps” the poor but doesn’t while making the rich more rich. Would not recommend.

[Christopher Stefanovich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a terrible introduction to the concept. The writing often resembled the old “use as many words as possible, restate the thesis in every paragraph, a list or six” style we all remember from trying to hit that word count in school.

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introductory look at smart cities. Halegoua does touch on the interesting issues with big data vis a vis cities. But her perspective is one of inclusiveness and equity and that argument isn't as effective with me as one of right to privacy. Regardless, worth the time it took to read.

[Kahler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent information pieces on utilizing data intentionally. However, a lot of information that could have probably been said in less than half the total page count. There were sections where my brain essentially turned off and still didn't lose the point or topic the author was rehashing.

[Max Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty basic rundown on the competing definitions of what a "smart city" is and to whose benefit that definition fits.

It's not particularly revolutionary but it sets out in what it aims to do by exploring the idea satisfactorily if not necessarily very creatively.

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good points drowned in a sea of keywords and bureaucratese.

[S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Не книга, а спроба авторки зібрати усі розумні слова в одну купу. Жодного сенсу.

[Genie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of smart cites and various issues surrounding them (basically, a literature review of the topic).

[Joshua Horvath · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dryly written and difficult to follow. Feels like the middle third of a much larger book, making it feel rambling and without context.

[Angelbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is about ethics about Smart Cities not about how to implement them

[John Holmes III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a snoozer but a good summary. Tech Bros are the worst!

[cypher · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy to follow and with a lot of examples, this is offering a good introduction into the subject of smart cities.

[Iryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цікава книга для розуміння що таке ці взагалі "розумні міста". Написана трохи сухо, як підручник, але і тема така, поки що доволі теоретична.
Ця книга дуже важлива для українців, тому що рано чи пізно ми зіткнемось з ініціативами імплементації "розумних міст", і тоді треба буде дуже уважно стежити за руками всіх хто такі ініціативи буде пропонувати і запроваджувати, бо ризиків поки що більше ніж реальної користі.

[Levi Barense · Rating 3 out of 5]

Urban technology is all about reacting to using the technology available to us to address urban problems and not force urban technologies in unnecessary circumstances

[Anna Hruska · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Bland
- Didn’t incorporate nearly enough urban planning concepts (ie the idea of a “third space” would fit in really well)
- It’s supposed to be a diluted version of the main book but it just repeats itself at nauseam
- I would sum it up as “it would be cool if it would work but privacy of the people’s a thing and corporations are greedy bastards so it never will”

Dec 30th 2022