scholarly journals Underneath the Promise of Safety and Security in a ‘Smart City’

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-110
Author(s):  
Sofie Doorman ◽  
Brunilda Pali
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Living Lab ◽  
Unanticipated Consequences ◽  
Smart Technologies

In this article, we explore the promises of security that are embedded in the smart city technologies and algorithms and their potential implications for creating social inequality and discrimination. Our ethnographic case study is the Living Lab Stratumseind, a popular nightlife street in Eindhoven where smart technologies and algorithms are being tested with the aim of increasing security in the street. First, we introduce the context in which the Living Lab Stratumseind was developed and trace this development and the multiple forms of governance that characterise it and highlight the main ‘smart technologies’ that can be found there. Second, we focus our attention on the ways in which smart technologies and algorithms promise to enhance public security by directly and uncritically translating technological rationales and discourses into social domains. Third, we argue that the smart city technologies and algorithms risk to create, reproduce and reinforce social inequalities and discrimination, and that it is unclear who is responsible for these unanticipated consequences.

scholarly journals Social Inequality among the Female Merchants of Ethnic Malay and Chinese

Society ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Eraskaita Ginting ◽  
Yusnaini Yusnaini
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The City ◽  
Depth Interviews

People in Jambi city assume that Pasar Hong Kong, a traditional market located in Jelutung sub-district, is “a Chinese market”, even some areas in the city of Jambi such as Jelutung, Koni, and Talang Banjar are dominated by the ethnic of Chinese. This research aims to explore how social inequality that occurs due to the advantages and disadvantages of an ethnic group so that it can affect individual attitudes that damage social capital. This research uses a case study approach with in-depth interviews and literature study as data collection techniques. The subjects of this study were ethnic Malay and Chinese female merchants in Pasar Hong Kong, Jambi city, Indonesia. This research found that social inequalities that occur among the female merchants of ethnic Malay and Chinese in Pasar Hongkong occur naturally, where both merchants and buyers have a high tolerance when interacting. Although sometimes there are differences in attitude when the merchants serve different ethnic buyers. The involvement of traditional leaders in managing social inequalities is very important due to the lack of assimilation among ethnic Malay and Chinese.

scholarly journals Innovative public-private partnership to support Smart City: the case of “Chaire REVES”

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Dupont ◽  
Laure Morel ◽  
Claudine Guidat
Keyword(s):  
Smart City ◽  
Public Private Partnership ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Private Partnership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Collaborative Processes ◽  
Regional University ◽  
Living Lab ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how French universities can play a key role in generating Smart City (SC) through an innovative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) dedicated to urban transformation. Design/methodology/approach – The authors led an action-research study for five years with several research and pedagogic projects, including users or citizens. Findings – The paper points out main factors of SC development. It also presents shared demonstrators’ characteristics, including industrial scale, sustainability, and citizens’ participation. Research limitations/implications – This research is experimented with only one regional multi-case study. Practical implications – Practical implications of this paper include a University of Lorraine diversification strategy through the “Chaire REVES” supported by public and private partners. Social implications – At the regional level, industrial-university-territorial partnerships could tackle both societal and economical issues “with,” “for,” and “by” citizens. Originality/value – Based on the Living Lab concept, this case study shows a concrete regional university strategy involving: user-centric design, collaborative processes, citizens’ workshops, and new financial and organizational answers enabling collaboration between private companies and public institutions. The paper also argues that innovative PPPs involving users are necessary for developing SC.

scholarly journals Pacifying Police Units and private interests in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-153
Author(s):  
Mayane Dore ◽  
Gabriel Bayarri ◽  
Daniel Marías
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Public Interests ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
Brazilian State ◽  
Private Investments ◽  
Private And Public

This article analyzes a concrete policy in the framework of Brazilian Public Security: the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs). It describes this policy and justifies, through an ethnographic case study, how the so-called “pacification of the favelas” articulates a logic of neoliberal urbanism and police infrastructure, understanding the residents of the favelas as potential consumers of their services. The article contextualizes the UPPs model as a paradigmatic case of public security in Latin America in which the discourse of violence/pacification is the main catalyst for private investments. More specifically, the article demonstrates how private companies resort to proximity conflicts mediation as a way of avoiding the judicialization of conflicts with the residents after the “Pacification”. With this case, we expect to illustrate the patrimonialism and clientelism that shapes the Brazilian State and its ambiguous relationships between private and public interests.

scholarly journals Planning & Open-Air Demonstrating Smart City Sustainable Districts

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Bracco ◽  
Federico Delfino ◽  
Paola Laiolo ◽  
Andrea Morini
Keyword(s):  
Distribution System ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Electric Distribution System ◽  
Living Lab ◽  
System Operator ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
The University ◽  
The City

The article is focused on the “demonstration” activities carried out by the University of Genoa at Savona Campus facilities in order to implement the “Living Lab Smart City”. The idea is to transform the Savona Campus in a Living Lab of the City of the Future: smart technologies in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and energy sectors were installed in order to show a real application of the Smart City concept to population and external stakeholders. Moreover, special attention was given to the environment, personal wellbeing, and social equalities. The sustainable energy Research Infrastructures (RIs) of Savona Campus allowed enhancement of the applied research in degree programs and the collaboration with several companies. In particular, an important partnership with the Italian electric Distribution System Operator (DSO), ENEL S.p.A., started in 2017 to test the capability of these RIs to operate disconnected from the National Grid, relying only on the supply of renewables and storage systems. The “Living Lab Smart City” is an important action to reduce the carbon footprint of the Savona Campus and to increase the awareness of students, teachers and researchers towards Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutes.

Urban Technological Innovation: Developing and Testing a Sociotechnical Framework for Studying Smart City Projects

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Meijer ◽  
Marcel Thaens
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Instrumental Value ◽  
Living Lab ◽  
The Social ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
Urban Problems

Urban technological innovation—the innovative use of technologies to tackle urban problems—has become increasingly popular under the label smart city. Our understanding of this sociotechnical process is limited, and therefore, this article develops a framework on the basis of the literature on social and technological innovation. This framework identifies four perspectives—a technological, an instrumental, a collaborative, and a symbolic perspective—to generate a comprehensive account of urban technological innovation. The value of the framework is tested by using it to analyze the Living Lab Stratumseind in Eindhoven (the Netherlands). The case highlights the value of the framework and demonstrates the interactions between the social and technological dimensions. The case study suggests that, for successful urban technological innovation, it is crucial to link initial enthusiasm based on technological and symbolic value to the long-term dynamics of institutionalized collaboration and instrumental value.

scholarly journals Experiences of Older People and Social Inclusion in Relation to Smart “Age-Friendly” Cities: A Case Study of Chongqing, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manlin Li ◽  
Ryan Woolrych
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
City Policy

Whilst cities can be sites of creativity, innovation, and change, they can also reproduce the conditions for the exclusion of vulnerable groups. Older people report experiencing specific barriers to accessing the city and are often excluded from the resources for ageing well. The smart city agenda has attempted to bring about technological change whilst also delivering improved quality of life for urban citizens. Smart technologies are a key element of the smart city and are viewed as having the potential to support the independence, autonomy, and well-being of older people. Yet, there has been little research exploring the role of the smart city in supporting the social inclusion of older people, nor any attempt to link this with key policy drivers on ageing e.g., age-friendly cities and communities. In response, the aim of this paper is to explore the experiences of older people living in a smart city in China and discuss how the smart city and age-friendly can be brought together to support positive social outcomes for older people. The paper presents qualitative findings from a multi-methods approach, including semi-structured interviews, walking interviews and focus groups. A total of 64 older people participated in the research across three diverse neighbourhoods in the case study smart city of Chongqing, China. The findings identified opportunities in the development and deployment of smart cities, including the potential for improved health and well-being and social connectedness. Yet in delivering on these benefits, a number of challenges were identified which may widen social inequalities, including inequities in access, issues of safety and security, and exclusion from the co-production of smart city policy and practise. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for future smart city policy and practise, specifically in delivering interventions that support older adults' social inclusion and the delivery of age-friendly cities and communities.

Inequality, Social Mobility, and Racism in Bolivia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Rosa Rea Campos
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Racial Categories ◽  
Poverty Concentration ◽  
The Social

Using Bolivia as a case study, this contribution discusses the relationship between racism and social inequality in Latin America. It establishes the role of ethnic and racial categories in the construction of imaginary borders that hinder social mobility among disadvantaged populations. Poverty in Latin America certainly affects the indigenous, Afro-descendants, and mestizos; indeed, the highest poverty indexes are still disproportionately concentrated among indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. These communities usually occupy manual labor positions with low remuneration and high degrees of informalization, while high-skilled, nonmanual positions with higher remuneration and power are concentrated in different communities. This pattern of poverty concentration has not significantly changed in countries, such as Bolivia, with large indigenous populations. In the past few decades, the social policies of progressive governments in Bolivia have managed to reduce extreme poverty at the macroeconomic level; however, these policies have had little effect on reducing social inequality gaps. Moreover, these progressive policies have yet to significantly reduce the entrenched racism that allows for Bolivian social inequalities to persist.

scholarly journals Social inequality and human development: Intertwined cycles of perversion in education in contemporary Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 84-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomar De Almeida Filho
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
Educational Structure ◽  
The Social ◽  
Contemporary Context

In this paper, a conceptual framework on the sources and origins of inequalities in education is presented, focusing the Brazilian contemporary context as a case-study of a paradox: reduced economic inequality in parallel to increasing inequities in education. To understand this apparent contradiction, first the Brazilian taxation structure is outlined as a intricate, regressive and unfair system organized for collecting economic revenues for funding the State. Secondly, the social and political inequities that affect and thus define the educational structure of Brazil is discussed to reveal the perverse effects that turn education into a major asset for the general reproduction of society. Finally, such paradoxes and contradictions in the field of education are analyzed as strategies for maintenance and reproduction of a social order based on social inequalities and inequities.http://dx.doi.org/10.15572/ENCO2015.06

scholarly journals The Conjoined Spectacles of the “Smart Super Bowl”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Renee Shelby ◽  
Sarah Barnes ◽  
Nassim Parvin ◽  
Mary McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Police Brutality ◽  
Super Bowl ◽  
Smart Technologies

This essay examines the Super Bowl and the smart city as conjoined spectacles. A focused case study on Super Bowl LIII and its staging in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019 allows us to investigate how the use of cutting-edge smart technologies, including cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence, image recognition, and data collection techniques to secure Mercedes Benz stadium naturalizes a broader anticipatory logic of state and corporate intervention, often evoked in the name of public safety and terrorism-prevention. Together the spectacles of sport and smart technologies gloss over systemic inequality and legitimize security infrastructures as well as related ideas that social problems such as a lack of affordable housing, police brutality, and environmental degradation are best addressed through technological solutions. Foregrounding the conjoined spectacles of the smart city and Super Bowl problematizes seemingly necessary security processes and social relations among people, events, technologies, and cities, inviting further research and discussions necessary for strengthening critical interventions and theorizing in these areas. 

Overcoming Challenges of International Migration Research: A Case Study Approach in Southern Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-143
Author(s):  
Julie Boyles
Keyword(s):  
International Migration ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Migration Research

An ethnographic case study approach to understanding women’s actions and reactions to husbands’ emigration—or potential emigration—offers a distinct set of challenges to a U.S.-based researcher.  International migration research in a foreign context likely offers challenges in language, culture, lifestyle, as well as potential gender norm impediments. A mixed methods approach contributed to successfully overcoming barriers through an array of research methods, strategies, and tactics, as well as practicing flexibility in data gathering methods. Even this researcher’s influence on the research was minimized and alleviated, to a degree, through ascertaining common ground with many of the women. Research with the women of San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico offered numerous and constant challenges, each overcome with ensuing rewards.

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