Wicked Problems of Smart Cities

In: Smart Cities ; Volume 2 ; Issue 4 ; Pages 31-521

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 &lsquo ; smart&rsquo ; 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 &lsquo ; smart cities&rsquo ; we here elaborate on how both propositions fail to consider drawbacks that could be characterized as &lsquo ; wicked&rsquo ; i.e., problems that lack simplistic solutions and straightforward planning responses, and which often come about as &lsquo ; management surprises&rsquo ; as a byproduct of achieving sustainability. We here deal with problems related to public choice constraints, &lsquo ; non-choice default technologies&rsquo ; 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 &lsquo ; wickedness&rsquo ; of an increasingly hyper-connected society.