Singapore University of Social Sciences

The ‘smart city’ paradigm is increasingly popular across the globe as the world continues to urbanise. Many societies seem to uphold a common understanding that a ‘smart city’ is one that exploits information and communication technologies (ICT) for more efficient service delivery. Yet, there is little consensus on the definition of a ‘smart city’, and the pragmatic push to use the technologies provides little room for critical examinations on existing and potential societal consequences. The social, cultural, and political enablers and impacts of the ‘smart city’ implementation may vary across local and regional contexts. While advancements of ICT open opportunities for addressing challenges on managing services, spaces, and infrastructures of urbanising populations, critical questions on the impacts of technology-driven development linger in many societies. What is the emerging social and cultural life of societies in ‘smart cities’? To what extent do conceptual understandings of the ‘smart city’ and its contexts (dis-)allow citizens to play a role in shaping their societies? This course enables students to critically explore the ‘smart city’ as a concept and a challenge in contemporary societies and to apply those conceptual understandings. Students will have opportunities to reflect these critical lenses and conceptual explorations on observations of real-life examples that range from everyday experiences to practices in industry partners and in policy-making. Through this course, students will be equipped with basic understandings to conceptually assess the impact of technologies in the everyday life of a ‘smart city,’ and with basic skills to navigate the challenges of rapidly changing information societies.