Watch:
It started with the article of Haya El Nasser at USA TODAY quoting Robert Lang, professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas “There’s a 15- to 20-year cycle on urban planning terms. Remember ‘urban renewal’? Smart growth is near the end of its shelf life”. “Intelligent cities, the new darling lingo of planners, reflects the times”. See some arguments below:
Will ‘intelligent cities’ put an end to suburban sprawl?
Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY, 28 Jan 2011
“When the economy was roaring and housing booming, reining in suburban sprawl dominated the development debate under the name of ‘smart growth’. Now that the economy and housing have tanked, prompting more people to stay put, growth is taking a back seat. But smarts still matter. The new buzzwords: ‘intelligent cities’.
“There’ s a 15- to 20-year cycle on urban planning terms,’ says Robert Lang, urban sociologist at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “Remember ‘˜urban renewal’ ? Smart growth is near the end of its shelf life.’
“Intelligent cities, the new darling lingo of planners, reflects the times. It captures the essence of 21st-century technology that can help track when and how many people cross a street, water and energy consumption and peak hours at every transit stop.”
USA Today Profiles Smart Growth vs. Intelligent Cities
Matt Ball, Spatial Sustain, 28 Jan 2011
“There’ s an interesting feature in today’ s USA Today that covers the shift in planning buzzwords. When development was expanding it was all about smart growth and when development pulled back there has been a move to keep the focus on smarts with the concept of intelligent cities. The increased efforts on the urban core rather than the far-flung suburbs speaks to lifestyle choices, cost of living and environmental impact. While technology leaders are addressing the technology piece, there’ s also a social component where greater citizen involvement will be sparked by accessible data and technology.”
“Smart Growth” Hits End of Buzz Cycle
Tim Halbur, Planetizen, 4 Feb 2011
“Haya El Nasser at USA Today suggests that “smart growth” is showing its age, and will go the way of the dustbin along with “urban renewal.” Meanwhile, “intelligent cities” is the new hot jargon word.” “Nasser looks into why “intelligent cities” captures the new spirit of planning today.”
From ‘smart growth’ to ‘intelligent cities‘
Mary Newsom in “The Naked City” , 4 Feb 2011
“Smart Growth helped environmentalists see how dense cities can hold the greenest neighborhoods. It pushed urban designers to think more creatively about stormwater and wetlands. The overall alliance has been healthy. Whatever it’ s called in the future, let us hope it continues.”
Intelligent cities complements smart growth, doesnt replace
Brent Toderian, City of Vancouver Director of Planning, Sun, 6 Feb 2011
“I support the idea of putting new things on the table, like the need to be more intelligent in our measuring and monitoring, and think “smart cities” can be a good addition to the discussion on better cities. But perhaps only in the US media would it be characterized as a replacement for broader and more important concepts like smart growth that remain valuable over the very long term. I hope American planners, and planners everywhere, reject this suggestion.”
“Smart Growth’ Soon to be in the Grave? Intelligent Cities the New Term
Zachary Shahan, Ecolocalizer, 8 Feb 2011
“You’ ve probably heard of “smart growth’ by now. But to urban planners, that seems to mean it’ s time for something new. While the goals of smart growth continue to be embraced, we are seeing a shift from that term to “intelligent cities’ Haya El Nasser of USA Today notes. Of course, there are some substantive reasons behind the shift as well.”
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