This book taught me a lot about what “smart cities” are, effectively demystifying the concept, as also the title indicates. The book analyzes smart cities from several perspectives like technology, governance, politics, organization, human nature, ethics, etc. This holistic approach is one of the things I found most inspiring and useful.
For those without a background in IT, the book gives an excellent and comprehensive overview of the concepts and technologies involved without going into unnecessary detail. Consequently, it could probably function well as a reference book.
The author also explains in good detail the practical realities that pose challenges to smart city implementations. For example, lack of centralized governance or IT architecture or skill gaps in central organizations - issues that might lead to siloed implementations that will not work well together and thus put significant limitations on the possible solutions.
Of course, there is also a way forward, and the book’s second part formulates five recommendations that can get cities on track toward using more of the new possibilities. As the author writes, “The real frontier for smart cities is imagination”. This resonates well with me, as people often just want a better version of what they have today – but lack the imagination (or knowledge) to create or envision completely new solutions.
Finally, the many examples and “solution spotlights” sprinkled around in the text makes the book not just more understandable but also more enjoyable to read. Many of these are taken directly from the author’s experiences in New York and other cities.
Highly recommended to both technical and non-technical audiences working with or interested in the prospects of smart cities.
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