Selfies document women's struggles and accomplishments, as they step out from their traditional roles in the home, into the male-dominated public realm of the city.
They’re small and well-connected, but how safe are ‘internet of things’ devices?
BeeBright/Shutterstock.com
As the number of 'internet of things' devices expands rapidly, so do security vulnerabilities to homes, businesses, governments and the internet as as whole.
Residents of slums like Kamla Nehru Nagar, a kilometre away from Patna Junction, have yet to share in the promised benefits of smart cities.
Sujeet Kumar
Indians were promised they would be included in planning 100 smart cities and that everyone would benefit. But many of the millions of slum residents have had no say in their homes being destroyed.
A Townsville City Deal was signed two years ago and the city is now one of Queensland’s ten leaders on smart city performance.
Lukas Coch/AAP
How smart are our cities now? In Queensland, a study of all 78 local government areas reveals major gaps between the ten leading the way in becoming smart cities and the rest of the state.
Barcelona is a city where various “smart” aspects contribute to everyday life.
Photo by Tim Easley on Unsplash
The UK pioneered smart cards such as Oyster. But now, experimentation is being stifled as cash-strapped councils struggle to deliver basic services.
Technology and artificial intelligence are already profoundly changing how we live, work and travel. Are we ready for more profound changes?
(Shutterstock)
Technology is already changing how we live our lives and go about our days. Are we ready with collaborative planning processes so we are not taken by surprise by more profound change?
A residential rain garden in Portland’s Tabor to the River project.
City of Portland Government
New research has uncovered a previously unknown weakness in smart city systems: devices that trust each other. That could lead to some pretty terrible traffic, among other problems.
Toronto could learn a lot from Brazil following the flawed and opaque consultation process to develop parts of the city’s waterfront.
(Shutterstock)
Toronto’s Quayside smart city project needs a new, truly consultative process. An innovative method used by Brazil to develop its landmark Internet Bill of Rights may be the answer.
China has its eye on technological dominance.
ROMSVETNIK/Shutterstock
Now is the time for China to put its technological and diplomatic skills on display in its quest for superpower status.
Tel Aviv has a reputation as a “non-stop city” but is also known for its local government’s use of smart technology to listen to and respond to residents’ needs and concerns.
Alexandra Lande/Shutterstock
To be a smart city is to know what your people want and need. And smart city leaders make sure residents can tell them by using technology to maintain a constant two-way flow of information.
At a construction site in New Delhi, workers are exposed to mosquito repellent.
Manan Vatsyayana/AFP
Olivier Telle, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
The spread of infectious diseases such as chikungunya is closely linked to urban mobility, yet small Indian cities could play a crucial role in the resilience process.
Researchers are installing sensors to collect data about the use of public spaces. This can improve the management and public amenity of these places, but will users see the technology as intrusive?
A rendering of Quayside, a neighborhood designed by Sidewalk Labs.
Sidewalk Labs
When building a smart city, it's vital that governments and citizens know up-front who will control the collected data.
Jakarta’s traffic system is one of many facets of the city that could be improved by smart cities technologies, but at what cost?
Vasenka Photography/Flickr
Governments are using Big Data to design improvements and upgrades of cities. But ethical questions need to be considered, lest we end up jeopardising citizens' privacy or deepen social inequalities.
Associate Professor, Sustainability and Urban Planning, School of Global Urban and Social Studies; Co-leader, Climate Change and Resilience Research Program, Centre for Urban Studies, RMIT University