9.2. Frontier Technologies for Variegated Urban Futures

Smart city initiatives have faced significant criticism, highlighting the risk of an overly technological approach to innovation without due regard to diverse urban and social contexts

engages with environmental sustainability issues. On one hand, smart city initiatives can be criticized for often prioritizing economic goals—expressed, for example, in terms of seizing global marketshare—and, consequently, marginalizing environmental goals.24 On the other hand, the environmental costs of smart city projects are frequently overlooked, when there is growing evidence that technological innovations may be carbon intensive and environmentally damaging.25 Recent years have, therefore, seen a shift towards more explicitly aligning the smart city with the goals of the sustainable city.26

Overall, the discussion of what innovation policy cities should pursue highlights the importance of a concerted approach that interrelates technological, social and public sector innovation. It further highlights the need for a variegated approach that pays attention to different types of cities and urban contexts, in order to achieve thriving, locally grounded innovation practices. It also underscores the importance of aligning innovation policy with major social policy goals, such as ensuring adequate housing, tackling poverty and improving sanitation. These insights are increasingly recognized in the development and application of emergent urban technologies, as the following section outlines.

9.2. Frontier Technologies for Variegated

Urban Futures

Urban futures will be defined to a significant extent by a series of frontier technologies, particularly relating to the green and smart technology sectors. Frontier technologies are innovations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics which are no longer in the research and development phrase but have yet to see mainstream market penetration and public adoption (Box 9.1). Their application in the urban realm has the potential to reconfigure urban development in radical and disruptive ways. The adoption of frontier technologies is not limited to large, global cities, but is increasingly relevant in lower-tiered cities and even informal settlements. This is because frontier technologies can be designed to be relatively low-cost and suitable for local adaptation. Still, a significant problem remains that some technological innovations, driven by global corporate interests, are either unattainable in resource-poor contexts or in their application exacerbate social inequalities, thus leaving some cities behind. Consequently, urban institutions and stakeholders should be actively involved in deciding how urban technologies are designed and adapted locally in pursuit of sustainable urban development.

Co-workers at the iHub, a working space for technology entrepreneurs, Nairobi, Kenya. © rvdw images/Shutterstock