Smart cities, metaverses, and the relevance of place

In Yemen sits the 16th Century walled city of Shibam, now listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. Beyond its historical and cultural significance, something about place is striking from design viewpoint. like many other ancient settlements, embeds much local wisdom in own design. Its unusually tall buildings were constructed with locally sourced mud. fabric dense creates needed shade city's narrow streets. Studies demonstrate rather sophisticated—and certainly low-carbon—approach to passive environmental at both urban building level, ensuring degrees thermal comfort such hot climate [1]. same region, also sit large cities Riyadh, Saudi capital. Shibam course, have radically different sizes economies are not generally comparable. But it must be noted that those contemporary centres mainly developed beyond their old towns, hinging on knowledge but ‘international’ criteria—normally dictated modernist visions urbanism architecture. Yet, harsh Arabian Peninsula, takes effort—and energy—to sustain made steel-and-glass buffered public spaces. Arabia seems use 70% electricity consumption simply operate air conditioning systems. Why am I invoking an town discuss smart cities? The point adopting implementing technologies—however past or contemporary—cannot seen deterministically positive. It all depends more complex, holistic, understanding approaches. Similarly, new technology should suggest jettisoning what already there, we learnt—in city, place—as wholly inadequate out-of-date. similar places might been ‘old’ unsuitable accommodate rapid urbanisation, they embedded accumulated knowledge, awareness context. Innovation, yet lessons mind, could precious shaping region. therefore ‘making smart’ without deep probably after all. prevalent ways frame represent seem based either rejecting present being tackling big societal challenges faces, best ignoring can offer. discourses tend portray one hand, key arena human inhabitation growth, other, increasingly broken environment. Cities—it often argued—are under pressure critical overpopulation, mobility infrastructural adequacy, social sustainability, resource scarcity, safety. This, together ever-changing lifestyles, makes them incapable coping future, unless embrace technological change. They ‘patient’ whose body failing where only sensible cure intrusive (technological) prosthetics. resist vision, see learning instructive long-term useful way designing environments than relying any carbon-copy glass-and-steel quick-fix. ‘city’ cannot simplistically interpreted generic background people—the latter normally framed middle-class consumers following global, standard lifestyles—onto which digital ‘solutions’ get superimposed given agency. So, whilst ‘smart’ bring innovative wave ideas initiatives aimed improving living there clear risk making mistake approaches ending up context-blind, models development lead oblivious power, inner place. allure bypassing messy complexity actual favour working virtualised somehow sanitised set tools environments—whether ‘read’ phenomena take decisions control them—is current debates, always chasing latest buzzwords, imply. Research ‘metaverse’ becoming significant trend urbanism, ranging construction ‘digital twins’ virtual—and virtually inhabitable—cities, case Liberland Metaverse environment designed Zaha Hadid Architects [2]. roots found least 3 decades old, though this discussed part history ideal Renaissance onwards. As combination control-freak, twin ‘Mirror Worlds’ [3], free-form designs interactive capabilities ‘Liquid Architectures’ [4], pollution constraint-free [5], metaverse rhetoric echoes fundamentally anti-urban, cyberspace-hailing hype 1990s. These towards environments, high-tech frontier, order overcome limitations proper places. my initial comparison, carries serious challenges. Here three reflect on: Relevance – Modelling simplify eliminate functional assumed ‘model’ reality. brand new, digitally powered too easily how milieu within exclude render invisible specific groups, cultures, practices inhabitation, Tensions addressed between vision tailored affluent empowered middle class population, concerned remote working, car-based residential security, potentially ignored needs local, low-income communities [6]. Issues water poverty, poor housing conditions lack access education training indeed improved using ICTs condition modelling virtualisation functions carried out inclusively through strategic, multi-dimensional grounded approach deployment product. Agency Let us assume conceived planned relevant way, reading dimensions, thus addressing wider range issues. next challenge relates groups just acknowledged actively influencing changing is, ability act, agency ‘right city’ [7 8]. How transparent (or not) metaverse(s)? conducive serendipitous, unexpected maybe even uncomfortable encounters they? A physical, analogue space provides, some measure, chance for appropriation, visibility disruption, community intervention ideas. you occupy street make parklet metaverse? Can proactively rearrange things open possibilities, ‘user’ predetermined gamified or, Paul Virilio provokingly argued, disembodied, isolated individual: ‘who has lost (…) immediate means intervening environment’ ([9]; 11)? question agency, parallel thread ‘public’ your really affects deeply nature shape. Socio-spatial polarisation Virilio's comments another important side agency-related challenge. If possibility acting cyberspace controlled, true stronger separation ‘digital’ ‘physical’ space, likely two-tier, socio-spatially polarised encouraged. You may accessing Roblox's virtual Gucci Garden [10] dressing avatar, struggling pay rent energy bills real flat. travel exotic locations find hard move inhabit looking job opportunities face-to-face life. Focussing ‘virtual’ experience does guarantee physical aspects will improve too, if uncoupled fact generate world who well off keep further increase interact play spaces places, others relegated lower-agency proposition surrogate. Despite abundant relationship enjoying higher empowerment, given. Some ‘experience topologies transnational elites’ characterised ‘higher hierarchical control’ [11]. words matter, help framing defining our field action. discussing envisaging interventions ‘places’ helpful meaningful describing ‘cities’. latter—as briefly outlined here—can reduced scenarios, allegedly neutral containers technology. Names map. Places instead complexity, immanence, diversity, need strategies context-rich specific. This implications processes hybrid or—as Mitchell [12] would said—recombined. Instead stemming do, doing somewhere else, aim generating context, layers, issues, potential, terms energies. Physical powerful agent participate visions. Community citizens end users or—worse—passive data points feeding system no dialogue influence on. holders issues wisdom. Networks infrastructures cables routers capital human, socio-economic relationships know-how wasteful plain irresponsible ignore. All requires multi-competence teams strategic plans, able leverage specificities Cities imagine uniquely suited, highly sustainable, communities. None. authors declare conflict interest. Alessandro Aurigi (Laurea (Arch) Florence - Italy, PhD Newcastle UK) Professor Urban Design University Plymouth, UK. Alex served Associate Dean Faculty Arts, Humanities Business, Head School Architecture Environment Plymouth. He worked Director department Architecture, Planning Landscape Newcastle, lecturer Bartlett Planning, research fellow Centre Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), UCL. member peer-review college AHRC (Arts Council, Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy. His main focuses emergence information society imagine, conceive, design, manage focus articulate recombined enhance support quality. publications topic include five books: Shaping Smart Better (Elsevier, 2020; edited, Nancy Odendaal); Routledge Companion (Routledge, Katharine Willis); Digital 2017; Augmented Spaces: Articulating Electronic City (Ashgate, 2008; Fiorella De Cindio); Making City: Early Internet Space 2005). shared.