TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the relevance of ‘smart city’ approaches to low-income communities in Medellín, Colombia
AU - Smith, Harry
AU - Medero, Gabriela M.
AU - Crane de Narvaez, Stephanie
AU - Castro Mera, Wilmar Edgardo
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Fionn MacKillop in the early stages of the research this paper is based on. Funding was provided by the United Kingdom's Global Challenges Research Fund.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Smart city approaches have tended to be top-down, techno-centric/corporate and expensive approaches which are promoted by large, global companies. Smart city narratives focus on their expected capacity to improve citizens’ quality of life. However, can technology-driven and municipally-led smart city initiatives address the issues faced by poor and vulnerable communities in urban and peri-urban areas? This paper explores key aspects of the implementation of smart city approaches in the Global South taking as a case study the Colombian city of Medellín, which has been recognized internationally for its social innovation and is considered a smart city by the Inter-American Development Bank. The paper draws on a local, national and international literature review; interviews with key local stakeholders involved in smart city initiatives; and an international workshop on smart cities and community data management organized by the authors in Medellín and bringing together three perspectives: academia, government and community. The paper provides a reflection on the concept of smart city, data management and citizen participation in smart city initiatives in Medellín, contrasting each of these with the literature. Our research found gaps between broader conceptualisations and community-oriented intentions in smart city initiatives in Medellín, as well as very low uptake and reported impact of such initiatives. We conclude that a redefinition of smart city approaches that may respond to the needs of the population while improving liveability is still urgently needed, and we set out a series of questions for an international research agenda on low-income community-oriented smart city research.
AB - Smart city approaches have tended to be top-down, techno-centric/corporate and expensive approaches which are promoted by large, global companies. Smart city narratives focus on their expected capacity to improve citizens’ quality of life. However, can technology-driven and municipally-led smart city initiatives address the issues faced by poor and vulnerable communities in urban and peri-urban areas? This paper explores key aspects of the implementation of smart city approaches in the Global South taking as a case study the Colombian city of Medellín, which has been recognized internationally for its social innovation and is considered a smart city by the Inter-American Development Bank. The paper draws on a local, national and international literature review; interviews with key local stakeholders involved in smart city initiatives; and an international workshop on smart cities and community data management organized by the authors in Medellín and bringing together three perspectives: academia, government and community. The paper provides a reflection on the concept of smart city, data management and citizen participation in smart city initiatives in Medellín, contrasting each of these with the literature. Our research found gaps between broader conceptualisations and community-oriented intentions in smart city initiatives in Medellín, as well as very low uptake and reported impact of such initiatives. We conclude that a redefinition of smart city approaches that may respond to the needs of the population while improving liveability is still urgently needed, and we set out a series of questions for an international research agenda on low-income community-oriented smart city research.
KW - Smart cities
KW - Community data
KW - Community management
KW - Low-income
KW - Global South
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123498216&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10708-022-10574-y
DO - 10.1007/s10708-022-10574-y
M3 - Article
SN - 0343-2521
VL - 88
SP - 17
EP - 38
JO - GeoJournal
JF - GeoJournal
IS - 1
ER -