What Can You Do With The "Smart" City? With Shannon Mattern

Summary

This talk explores the evolution of urban planning through various metaphors, from the city as a machine to a complex organism and a computer network. It discusses the impact of big data and technology on city design, highlighting projects like Sidewalk Labs in Toronto. The speaker critiques the 'smart city' concept, warning of the risks of corporate influence and the loss of historical resilience. They advocate for a balanced approach, considering the city's organic growth and the potential of disruptive 'parasites' to drive innovation.

Takeaways

• 🌆 Cities are increasingly conceptualized as computers, with streets as interfaces, people as cursors, and smartphones as input devices.
• 🔄 There are two main visions of the 'city as a computer' model: a user-based, bottom-up vision, and a systems-based, top-down vision focused on urban efficiency.
• 🌐 These metaphors give rise to new urban planning models, such as cities as platforms or operating systems, influencing urban governance, design, and citizenship.
• 🧬 Urban planners have long used metaphors of machines, organisms, and ecosystems to describe cities, which has impacted how they view urban growth, function, and organization.
• 🌳 The 'city as an organism' metaphor highlights the interdependence of urban parts, comparing cities to biophysical bodies with circulatory and nervous systems.
• 📊 Cybernetic models, emerging after WWII, have shaped modern 'smart city' concepts, treating cities as informational systems subject to control and optimization.
• 🏛️ Historically, cities have been knowledge repositories and data processors, from ancient scripts on clay tablets to modern bureaucratic infrastructures like office buildings.
• 🌿 The metaphor of 'grafting' is introduced as a way to describe how cities grow and evolve by merging old and new systems, although this can leave them vulnerable to corruption or loss of historical knowledge.
• ⚠️ The 'grafting' of technology into urban environments without considering historical and local contexts can make cities susceptible to new forms of vulnerability, such as surveillance and corporate control.
• 🦠 The concept of urban 'parasites' explores how small disruptive forces can incite change within the urban system, offering potential for both innovation and decay in smart cities.

Q & A

What is the main idea behind the concept of 'city as a computer'?

The concept of 'city as a computer' suggests that the city operates like a complex system where embedded sensors, cameras, networks, smartphones, and operating systems work together to achieve efficiency, connectivity, and social harmony, transforming the urban environment into a programmable entity.

What are the two visions of the 'city as a computer' model mentioned in the script?

The two visions mentioned are the user-based, bottom-up vision, which sees the city as an interface with the individual as the cursor and the smartphone as the input device, and the top-down, systems-based vision, which focuses on making urban systems like transit, garbage, and water more efficient and organized.

What does the term 'epistemological metaphors' refer to in the context of the script?

In the context of the script, 'epistemological metaphors' refers to the different ways of understanding and interpreting knowledge within the framework of urban planning and design, such as how information flows through a city and the value placed on different types of civic data or wisdom.

How do the metaphors of 'machine', 'organism', and 'ecosystem' influence urban planning?

The metaphor of 'machine' focuses on efficiency and piecemeal repair, 'organism' views the city as a self-contained entity with interdependent parts, and 'ecosystem' emphasizes the need for scientific management and conservation. These metaphors shape how urban planning is conceived, including governance, urban form, and citizenship.

What is the significance of the 'graft' metaphor in the context of urban development?

The 'graft' metaphor in urban development signifies the process of combining different elements or systems to create a new, improved, or hybrid urban form. It suggests a method of urban evolution where existing urban structures are improved or new ones are integrated to enhance the city's functions and resilience.

How does the script relate the concept of 'cyborg' to urbanism?

The script relates the 'cyborg' concept to urbanism by suggesting a merger of the technological and the organic, indicating a hybrid urban form where technology is integrated into the city's physical and functional structures, creating a new kind of urban organism.

What role does the 'parasite' metaphor play in the discussion of smart cities?

The 'parasite' metaphor is used to discuss the potential for disruptive and transformative elements within smart cities. It suggests that, like parasites in nature, certain elements can exploit the system but also incite productive changes, challenging the status quo and leading to new forms of urban evolution.

Why is it important to consider multiple metaphors when discussing the smart city?

Considering multiple metaphors when discussing the smart city is important because each metaphor provides a different perspective and understanding of the city's complexity. By using various lenses, we can better comprehend the city's multifaceted nature and identify a broader range of actions and interventions.

How does the script connect the historical role of cities to their modern computational counterparts?

The script connects the historical role of cities as knowledge repositories and data processors to their modern computational counterparts by highlighting the city's continuous function as an information processor and the evolution of its informational role from early scripts to modern data management systems.

What are the implications of the 'graft' technique in the context of urban tech companies and public-private partnerships?

In the context of urban tech companies and public-private partnerships, the 'graft' technique implies the risk of infection and decay, suggesting that the integration of new technologies and corporate interests can lead to vulnerabilities such as surveillance, data mining, and the erosion of the social contract.