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ERAdiate Lecture Series #4: Smart Cities for People
November 27, 2018 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
ERAdiate Lecture Series: Smart Cities for People
27 November 2018,10am
Scientific Board Room, Nová Menza
ABSTRACT
‘Smart City’ and ‘Smart Mobility’ approaches promise technology-based opportunities to build more efficient, better connected and more creative cities. Real-time ICT infrastructure and recent technological developments on Big Data, the Internet-of-Things and Artificial Intelligence bring new opportunities for flexible parking services, intelligent traffic signalling for buses or cyclists, dynamic road pricing, real-time traffic information and management, multimodal mobility planning and ticketing etc. Realtime analytics are also expected to enhance the accountability in urban service provision and enable enhanced public participation. Overall smart urbanism is emerging at the intersection of visions for the future of urban places, infrastructures, new technologies, entrepreneurship and the governance of cities. Despite positive expectations, the smart transition brings several socio-technical challenges. What is ‘smart’? Is smart the same as sustainable? Is smart for everyone? Critiques have argued that emphasis on market-led technological solutions risk prioritising growth and the economy while disregarding the social, the environmental and the political – and in some cases it could lead to technological lock-ins and a corporatisation of city governance. This lecture series will explore from academic and practitioners’ perspectives what a Smart City transition means for people, and how the Smart City concept can contribute to enhanced quality-of-life.
The first presentation, entitled “Slovak Smart Cities – Opportunity or Fake?”, will bring a provocative question whether and to what extend is “smart city concept” a realistic approach for Slovak cities.
The second presentation has three main goals: to increase awareness of the smart transformation impact in society, to provide a framework for understanding this transformation that outlines the core issues and possible responses and to provide a couple of recommendations for future based on lessons learnt and past experiences in United Nations University.
The third presentation concerning an interesting case of study. Cities around the world are growing rapidly. In 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Already today big cities face enormous challenges when it comes to handling traffic and at the same time being a sustainable, attractive and healthy city for people. New technology and big data brings a new perspective on possible solutions in the Smart City agenda. But often cities take a top-down approach to the smart solutions and implement new big systems to solve transport issues. Often the end-user is forgotten in the top-down approach and the true effect on the user behaviour will most likely be small. Therefore, working with a user-centred design process for shaping future solution is essential to fully understand the user’s needs and scope investments.
10.00: Opening by Prof. Tatiana Kovacikova, ERAchair Holder, Univ. of Žilina (Slovakia)
10.10: Introduction by Dr. Yannick Cornet, ERAdiate Team Member, Univ. of Žilina (Slovakia)
10.20: Slovak Smart Cities, opportunity or Fake? by Erika Horanská, Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic
10.50: Smart Cities: a social perspective by Nuno Vasco Lopes, United Nations University (Portugal)
11.20: Smart solutions for sustainable mobility – Examples from Copenhagen by Maria Wass-Danielsen, UrbanCreators (Denmark)
11.50: Panel Discussion
13.00: Closing
