Speaker
Description
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, is one of the first smart city models that emerged as an ambitious project, aiming to become the world’s first carbon-neutral and zero-waste city and seamlessly weave technology into managing its urban fabric. Masdar City aspired to become a tech and economic hub that attracts investors and researchers, and it hoped its sustainability-through-tech mission would inspire leading actors to become part of Masdar. The project, which started in 2009, is to this day unfinished and ended up becoming largely a ghost city, barely achieving any of its goals and neglecting the most crucial component of a city: people. What would happen if we prioritize the values of community and social equity at the core of designing future cities? To what extent should technology be integrated into their design? Rendering technology as the solution to urban problems is an innately flawed claim, as the nature of the city is too complex to rely solely on technology for development. Instead, technology should be perceived as a facilitator in developing city solutions rather than the solution itself. Upon examining the failures and lessons learned from Masdar City, how can we design a better smart city model focused on community values and community development? To better answer this question, we propose a project that aims to develop a future city model for a site in Florya, Istanbul. In light of Istanbul’s rapid urbanization and fast-paced living, developing a city-neighborhood model that fosters connection and social bonds can have positive outcomes when it comes to bottom-up city planning approaches. In this paper, we explore how urban planning can integrate “smart” city applications and support projects, initiatives, and systems that promote social connection through volunteering, local production, and enhanced pedestrian-friendly mobility and walkability solutions. Future cities do not have to be technological utopias but rather offer a reasonable interpretation of the needs of people and their larger communities to build a just and equitable future.
| Keywords | Masdar City; Florya, Istanbul; Urbanization; Future Cities; Community Development |
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| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
