Methods for Uncovering Discourses That Shape the Urban Imaginary in Helsinki's Smart City

Abstract

In modern urban environments the technologies that are basic to everyday life have become further embedded in that life. Smart cities are one example of the acceleration of technological change in order to engage with urban sustainability challenges, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools as one mode of engagement. However, the discourses through which cities engage with smart city growth and management can have long-term consequences for diverse knowledge held within the imaginaries of situated smart urbanism. As the city of Helsinki increasingly focuses on sustainable smart city initiatives, concurrent research suggests that smart urbanism is at a crossroads, where developers must decide how smart cities choose to engage with its residents' knowledge. This research sets out to ask, how are top-down smart city interventions communicated on Twitter (de)legitimizing diverse knowledge in situated smart urbanism? We draw from Foucaudian theory to identify which discourses are elevated, through statements posted on the social media platform Twitter. By answering this question, our goal in this paper is to examine how Foucault's methods can be used to highlight unseen assumptions about smart urbanism in Helsinki. Our objective is to identify overarching narratives and potential contested conceptualizations of smart urbanism in Helsinki. With our methods, we contribute a novel angle to surfacing power relations that are becoming evident in the development of AI-governed smart cities.

Cities and Territorial Brand in The Metaverse: The Metaverse SEOUL Case

“…Cities seek to promote sustainable initiatives for smart cities, creating smart urbanism [3], which is part of these metaverses' initiatives. A metaverse is the union of routine activities in the digital environment, but rather in a three-dimensional and multisensory manner, going beyond virtual reality [27].…”

“…Technologies in modern urban environments are essential in everyday life. Smart and digital cities are examples of accelerating technological changes that seek urban sustainability through Artificial Intelligence (AI) to amplify citizen engagement [3].…”

“…This vision involves using decentralized technologies, such as blockchain and smart contracts, to enable greater user autonomy, privacy, and security over personal data. However, the underlying concept of "Web3" can also be discussed in broader terms, encompassing the evolution of the Internet toward a more open, collaborative, and usercentric infrastructure [3,27,30,31].…”

“…Although blockchains are a decentralized technology, the concept of metaverses extends beyond them. Technology companies, game developers, virtual reality companies, and even governments have explored the metaverse concept in different contexts and with different technological approaches [3,27,30,31].…”

“…The imagination for more sustainable cities and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities and metropolitan regions [2] have created conditions for creating smart cities governed by artificial intelligence. The scenario exposed has expanded human imagination and the continuous search for an intelligent utopia [3]. It stands out that the smart city discourse is a powerful tool for political legitimization mechanisms [4].…”