Visibilities and Invisibilities in Smart Cities: Emerging Research and Opportunities: (Advances in Civil and Industrial Engineering)

Throughout history, humanity has sought the betterment of its communities. In the 21st century, humanity has technology on its side in the process of improving its cities. Smart cities make their improvements by gathering real-world data in real time. Still, there are many complexities that many do not catch—they are invisible. It is important to understand how people make sense at the urban level and in extra-urban spaces of the combined complexities of invisibilities and visibilities in their environments, interactions, and infrastructures enabled through their own enhanced awareness together with aware technologies that are often embedded, pervasive, and ambient. This book probes the visible and invisible dimensions of emerging understandings of smart cities and regions in the context of more aware people interacting with each other and through more aware and pervasive technologies. Visibilities and Invisibilities in Smart Cities: Emerging Research and Opportunities contributes to the research literature for urban theoretical spaces, methodologies, and applications for smart and responsive cities; the evolving of urban theory and methods for 21st century cities and urbanities; and the formulation of a conceptual framework for associated methodologies and theoretical spaces. This work explores the relationships between variables using a case study approach combined with an explanatory correlational design. It is based on an urban research study conducted from mid-2015 to mid-2020 that spanned multiple countries across three continents. The book is split into four sections: introduction to the concepts of visible and invisible, frameworks for understanding the interplay of the two concepts, associated and evolving theory and methods, and extending current research as opportunities in smart city environments and regions. Covering topics including human geography, smart cities, and urban planning, this book is essential for urban planners, designers, city officials, community agencies, business managers and owners, academicians, researchers, and students, including those who work across multiple domains such as architecture, environmental design, human-computer interaction, human geography, information technology, sociology, and affective computing.

About the Author :
Patricia McKenna is the President of AmbientEase, providing information services to many sectors. Patricia works within and across diverse domains of scholarship and practice (interdisciplinary) and collaborates in team efforts to set up international, national, regional, and local information services, research projects, startups, and other creative and future-oriented initiatives. McKenna is also the Director of the Urbanities Lab, an initiative focusing on the exploration of smart cities and learning cities. Author of some 50 publications that include contributions to special journal issues, books, and chapter contributions to books pertaining to the smart cities domain, Patricia is a regular presenter of papers at international conferences as well as a program board member and session organizer. With a focus on smart cities and learning cities, Patricia engages with diverse sectors around use experience and unexpected possibilities for generating and leveraging increased awareness and creativity in 21st century information environments. Patricia holds a BA from the University of New Brunswick, an MLS from McGill University, and a Doctorate in information management (with a focus on emerging technologies) from Syracuse University.