Call for Papers: Smart City, Neighbourhood Change and Spatial Inequality
35th International Geographical Congress, 24-30 August, Dublin, Ireland
Session Organisers: Mary Kazemi and Rob Kitchin
Smart cities have gained significant attention over the last decade in the rapidly digitalizing world. Although the concept of the smart city promises a utopian perspective of urban living, where using cutting-edge technologies, geospatial data, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and artificial intelligence (AI) improve the quality of life of all citizens, in practice the benefits of these technologies are distributed unevenly among different groups of citizens vis-à-vis their socioeconomic status or geographic location.
Spatial inequality within smart cities manifests in various ways. For instance, implementing smart city initiatives in a neighbourhood attracts investments and professionals, which increases property values and improves amenities and services. Disparities in access to digital infrastructure and services usually reinforce existing spatial inequalities and trigger gentrification. Such disparities raise questions about the right to the smart city and what actions policy makers, urban planners, technology developers, and researchers do to be more sensitive to the potential negative impacts of smart city endeavours.
This session will focus on the neighbourhood effects of smart city developments, their potential role in reproducing spatial inequalities, and how a more just and emancipatory smart city might be created. We are seeking contributions that explore the following or related topics:
- Smart city spatial effects
- Neighborhood change
- Gentrification
- Spatial inequality
- Data-driven planning/decision making
- Digital divide
- Algorithmic government
- Smart city and real estate market
- Policy responses
- Citizen-centric smart cities
- The right to the smart city
Submit your abstract through the IGC online submission system by Friday 12 January 2024. For queries email: Maryam.Kazemi.2022@mumail.ie or Rob.Kitchin@mu.ie
This session is part of the Governance Commission (C15). Instructions for abstract submission can be found at https://igc2024dublin.org/call-for-abstracts/