SSM 106 GEOGRAPHY 3

(URBAN GEOGRAPHY)

Week 12 Final Period

King Arnold C. Satsatin

College Instructor
Lesson 7 THE SCALE OF URBAN
GOVERNANCE
Learning Objectives:
• At the end of the week, the preservice teacher (PST) should be able
to:
a. explain what is city politics;
b. discuss the different issues attached to urban
development;
c. present an economic map which depicts the diverse
city politics governance in the 20th as compared to the
21st century; and
d. explain how politics shaped the progress of the city
and the challenges they face.
What is governance?
Governance
•Governance has been defined as the
rules of the political system to solve
conflicts between actors and adopt
decision (legality). It has also been used
to describe the "proper functioning of
institutions and their acceptance by the
public" (legitimacy).
Urban Governance
• Urban governance is primarily concerned
with the processes through which
government is organized and delivered in
towns and cities and the relationships
between state agencies and civil society—a
term that is used to include citizens,
communities, private-sector actors, and
voluntary organizations.
Urban Governance
•A focus on governance, therefore,
draws attention to those interests
that have the power to make
decisions about policy in cities and
how processes of decision-making
operate.
 Is there a
difference in urban
and rural
governance?
• Effective policy development and
implementation depends on how systems of
governance are organized, shaped, and
structured.
• In short, a focus on governance draws
attention to both the technical and/or
bureaucratic organization of governments and
the state and the processes and structures
that shape and constitute broader relations of
power, domination, and authority.
• Modern urban areas often possess a
greater diversity of social groups and
have a greater concentration of problems
to be tackled.
• Populations are also increasingly
urbanized and what happens in towns
and cities has broader social, political,
and economic impacts beyond the urban
scale.
The study of urban governance is
principally concerned with the
following topics:
1. Urban Politics
• Urban politics is concerned with the relationships
between different groups of people and interests
in society, especially, those relationships
involving the acquisition of power and authority.
• It is closely related to broader conceptualizations
of identity and representation and the decision-
making processes through which representations
and decisions are made.
2. Changing modes of democratic
representation
• A focus on governance also draws attention
to the structure of political systems and
broader concerns with questions of political
representation, democratic legitimacy, and
accountability. Well-functioning systems of
governance both help to create, and are the
consequence of, healthy democracies.
3. Citizenship
• This shift to participative governance has
significant implications for citizenship and
the relationships between citizens and the
institutions that govern them.
• It involves the establishment of a new
balance of rights and responsibilities and the
redrawing of boundaries of state action and
regulation.
Active Citizenship
• In simple terms, active citizens are
characterized as being politically, socially, and
economically independent. This
independence enables them to take on more
responsibility for their own welfare so that
they do not have to rely on state
bureaucracies and/or welfare services.
Passive citizens
•Passive citizens, on the other hand, are
often portrayed as “dependent citizens.”
Their passivity is increasingly seen, by
(neoliberal) governments, as a problem
to be cured through government
programs and actions.
4. Economic competitiveness
• n recent decades, there has also been growing
interest in the relationships between governance
and economic development.
• With the growth of the so-called “new economy”
based on “creativity” and entrepreneurship,
economic activity it is claimed, is increasingly
dependent on the networks established between
firms and the support structures that exist with
institutions of government and civil society.
New Economy
5. Privatization and the new forms of
public–private working
•Under neoliberal reforms,
governance has also been concerned
with bringing private actors and
resources directly into decision-
making and policy delivery
structures.
6. Urban sustainability
• Governance is one of the key pillars of the
sustainability agendas promoted by agencies such
as the World Bank, national governments, and
nongovernmental organizations.
• It is argued that economic development projects
will only promote new forms of equity if decision-
making systems and structures are broken open
and made responsive and accountable to a broad
section of civil society.
Smart City
Smart City
• A smart city uses information and
communication technology (ICT) to
improve operational efficiency, share
information with the public and
provide a better quality of
government service and citizen
welfare.
Smart City
• There are a number of definitions of
what makes a city ‘smart,’ for example,
IBM defines a smart city as “one that
makes optimal use of all the
interconnected information available
today to better understand and control
its operations and optimise the use of
limited resources.”
• The main goal of a smart city is to
optimise city functions and promote
economic growth while also improving
the quality of life for citizens by using
smart technologies and data analysis.
The value lies in how this technology is
used rather than simply how much
technology is available.
A city’s smartness is determined
using a set of characteristics,
including:
An infrastructure based around
technology
Environmental initiatives
Effective and highly functional public
transportation
Confident and progressive city plans
People able to live and work within
the city, using its resources
• The success of a smart city relies on the
relationship between the public and
private sectors as much of the work to
create and maintain a data-driven
environment falls outside the local
government remit. For example, smart
surveillance cameras may need input and
technology from several companies.
• Smart cities use a variety of software, user
interfaces and communication networks
alongside the Internet of Things (IoT) to
deliver connected solutions for the public. Of
these, the IoT is the most important. The IoT
is a network of connected devices that
communicate and exchange data. This can
include anything from vehicles to home
appliances and on-street sensors.
Alongside the IoT solutions, smart
cities also use technologies
including:
•Application Programming
Interfaces (APIs)
•Artificial Intelligence (AI)
•Cloud Computing Services
•Dashboards
•Machine Learning
•Machine-to-Machine
Communications
•Mesh Networks
Smart City Features

• Combining automation, machine

learning and the IoT is allowing for the
adoption of smart city technologies
for a variety of applications. For
example, smart parking can help
drivers find a parking space and also
allow for digital payment.
Smart City Features

• Smart city features can also include

energy conservation and
environmental efficiencies, such as
streetlights that dim when the roads
are empty. Such smart grid
technologies can improve everything
from operations to maintenance and
planning to power supplies.
Smart City Features

• Aside from services, smart cities allow

for the provision of safety measures
such as monitoring areas of high crime
or using sensors to enable an early
warning for incidents like floods,
landslides, hurricanes or droughts.
• Smart buildings can also offer real-time
space management or structural health
monitoring and feedback to determine
when repairs are necessary. Citizens can
also access this system to notify officials
of any problems, such as potholes, while
sensors can also monitor infrastructure
problems such as leaks in water pipes.
How Smart Cities Work
• 1. Collection – Smart sensors gather real-time
data
• 2. Analysis – The data is analysed to gain insights
into the operation of city services and operations
• 3. Communication – The results of the data
analysis are communicated to decision makers
• 4. Action – Action is taken to improve operations,
manage assets and improve the quality of city life
for the residents
Why Smart Cities Are Important
• 54% of the world’s population live in cities and this
is expected to rise to 66% by 2050, adding a
further 2.5 billion people to the urban population
over the next three decades. With this expected
population growth there comes a need to manage
environmental, social and economic sustainability
of resources.
• Smart cities allow citizens and local government
authorities to work together to launch initiatives
and use smart technologies to manage assets and
resources in the growing urban environment.
Are they Secure?
• Smart cities offer plenty of benefits to improve
citizen safety, such as connected surveillance
systems, intelligent roadways and public safety
monitoring, but what about protecting the smart
cities themselves?
• There is a need to ensure smart cities are
protected from cyber attacks, hacking and data
theft while also making sure the data that is
reported is accurate.
Examples:
• Cities across the world are in different stages of smart technology development and implementation.
However, there are several who are ahead of the curve, leading the path to creating fully smart cities. These
include:
• Barcelona, Spain
• Columbus, Ohio, USA
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Hong Kong, China
• Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• London, England
• Melbourne, Australia
• New York City, New York, USA
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• San Diego, California, USA
• Singapore
• Tokyo, Japan
• Toronto, Canada
• Vienna, Austria
Singapore
• The city state of Singapore is considered to be one
of the front-runners in the race to creating fully
smart cities, with IoT cameras monitoring the
cleanliness of public spaces, crowd density and the
movement of registered vehicles. Singapore also
has systems to monitor energy use, waste
management and water use in real time. In
addition, there is autonomous vehicle testing and
a monitoring system to ensure the health and
wellbeing of senior citizens.
Kansas City
• Elsewhere, Kansas City has introduced
smart streetlights, interactive kiosks
and over 50 blocks of free Wi-Fi.
Parking space details, traffic flow
measurement and pedestrian hotpots
are also all available to residents via
the city's data visualization app.
San Diego
• San Diego, meanwhile, has installed 3,200 smart
sensors to optimise traffic flow and parking as well
as enhancing public safety and environmental
awareness. Electric vehicles are supported by
solar-to-electric charging stations and connected
cameras monitor for traffic problems and crime.
Dubai and Barcelona
• Traffic monitoring systems are also in place in
Dubai, which has telemedicine and smart
healthcare solutions as well as smart buildings,
utilities, education and tourism options. Barcelona
also has smart transportation systems with bus
stops offering free Wi-Fi and USB charging ports,
along with a bike-sharing programme and a smart
parking app including online payment options.
Temperature, pollution and noise are also
measured using sensors that also cover humidity
and rainfall.
Inclusiveness, safety, resilience, and
sustainability in the smart city context
• The inclusive city was then defined as “a
place where everyone, regardless
of wealth, gender, age, race or religion,
is enabled to participate productively
and positively in the opportunities cities
have to offer.”
• In parallel, good urban governance was defined as one of
the essential means to realize the inclusive city through
“inclusive decision-making processes” capable of ensuring
the highest probability of sustainability.
• Thus the idea of an inclusive city is global, even though
the concept of inclusion is not, since it depends on the
significance it has in each country, and it is therefore
necessary to promote diverse governance policies and
practices in each context.
Conclusions
•Creating smart connected systems
for our urban areas provides a
great many benefits for citizens
around the world, not only to
improve quality of life, but also to
ensure sustainability and the best
possible use of resources.
Any Questions?