Wicked Problems of Smart Cities

Abstract

It is often uncritically assumed that, when digital technologies are integrated into the operation of city functions, they inevitably contribute to sustainable urban development. Such a notion rests largely on the belief that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions pave the way for more democratic forms of planning, and that ‘smart’ technological devices result in a range of environmental benefits, e.g., energy efficiency and the mitigation of global warming. Drawing on the scientific literature that deals with ‘smart cities’, we here elaborate on how both propositions fail to consider drawbacks that could be characterized as ‘wicked’, i.e., problems that lack simplistic solutions and straightforward planning responses, and which often come about as ‘management surprises’, as a byproduct of achieving sustainability. We here deal with problems related to public choice constraints, ‘non-choice default technologies’ and the costs of automation for human learning and resilience. To avoid undemocratic forms of planning and too strong a dependence on non-choice default technologies, e.g., smart phones, we recommend that planners and policy makers safeguard redundancy in public-choice options by maintaining a wide range of alternative choices, including analog ones. Resilience thinking could help planners deal more effectively with the ‘wickedness’ of an increasingly hyper-connected society.

Enabling Relationships with Nature in Cities

“…At present, new digital technologies are integrated into the operation of city functions, as in the form of smart cities [131,132]. The applicability of immersive technology, like augmented reality, will inevitably increase quite drastically in the near future, together with artificial intelligence.…”

Supporting Bottom-Up Human Agency for Adapting to Climate Change

“…However, when wicked environmental problems are reduced to single metrics that are fixed and simplistic and lack contextual sensitivity, unwanted surprises risk showing up down the line. 6 For one thing, an inordinate obsession with metrics can cause unfulfilled numerical targets to retrospectively turn out to be paper tigers and therefore risk fueling further anti-environmental sentiments in society. Failure to reach targets and sub-goals is by no means a far-fetched assumption.…”

“…Nevertheless, continual adaptation is a crucial part of dealing with super-wicked environmental problems that lack simplistic solutions and that often come about as ''management surprises.'' 6 The boundary between adaptation and mitigation is also extremely fluid. This means that mitigation strategies can increase the chances of successfully adapting to climate variability.…”

Aplicación de la técnica de componentes principales en la determinación de variables de activos ambientales

“…La sociedad luego de la revolución industrial se vio inmersa en cambios significativos para el desarrollo económico y social, orientados a la mejora de maquinaria y tecnología para la realización de las labores cotidianas, constituyéndose en herramientas para cada día mejorar las condiciones de vida de las personas, dejando de lado que todos estos cambios provocan afectaciones significativas y de distinta índole en el entorno o medio ambiente (Corradini, 2019). Gracias a la implementación de la tecnología, se ha favorecido la eficiencia en las labores realizadas por el hombre cada día pues toman menos tiempo al ser más tecnificadas, y en este sentido, es importante tener presente que se están generando avances considerables y desarrollos tecnológicos a diario, debido a que los adelantos tecnológicos, en especial las tecnologías digitales, se han incorporado y forman parte de las actividades desarrolladas en las empresas y de la vida diaria de las personas (Colding et al, 2019).…”