Knowledge politics in the smart city: A case study of strategic urban planning in Cambridge, UK

Abstract This paper highlights the need and opportunities for constructively combining different types of (analogue and data-driven) knowledges in evidence-informed policy decision-making in future smart cities. Problematizing the assumed universality and objectivity of data-driven knowledge, we cal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inData & Policy Vol. 3
Main Authors Nochta, Timea, Wahby, Noura, Schooling, Jennifer M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.01.2021
Subjects
Automation
Case studies
city science
Collaboration
Community
Complementarity
Data
Decision making
Knowledge
Knowledge bases (artificial intelligence)
knowledge production
Objectivity
Participation
Politics
Production
situated knowledge
Smart cities
smart city
Urban planning
Urban policy
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:Abstract This paper highlights the need and opportunities for constructively combining different types of (analogue and data-driven) knowledges in evidence-informed policy decision-making in future smart cities. Problematizing the assumed universality and objectivity of data-driven knowledge, we call attention to notions of “positionality” and “situatedness” in knowledge production relating to the urban present and possible futures. In order to illustrate our arguments, we draw on a case study of strategic urban (spatial) planning in the Cambridge city region in the United Kingdom. Tracing diverse knowledge production processes, including top-down data-driven knowledges derived from urban modeling, and bottom-up analogue community-based knowledges, allows us to identify locationally specific knowledge politics around evidence for policy. The findings highlight how evidence-informed urban policy can benefit from political processes of competition, contestation, negotiation, and complementarity that arise from interactions between diverse “digital” and “analogue” knowledges. We argue that studying such processes can help in assembling a more multifaceted, diverse and inclusive knowledge-base on which to base policy decisions, as well as to raise awareness and improve active participation in the ongoing “smartification” of cities.
ISSN:2632-3249
2632-3249
DOI:10.1017/dap.2021.28