How Urban Psychology is Shaping Cities
Urban Planning and Smart Cities
Urban design is the “manipulation of the physical environment” in a way that:
- Addresses the way people perceive and behave in their surroundings,
- Considers the implications of form-giving actions (including the environmental and ecological consequences) at a range of scales (sometimes from the individual to the regional),
- Pursues multiple objectives for multiple clients (including affected members of the public), and
- Is conducted through an explicit decision-making process that allows the public to participate in a meaningful way.
The concept of Smart Cities is gaining increasing attention as an approach to addressing the challenges of urban design and management. Smart Cities are underpinned by the assumption that inhabitants, service providers, and municipal governments would be able to make better decisions when having the correct information at the right time, resulting in improved quality of life for urban residents and the city’s overall sustainability. For this to occur it is vital that information resulting from a Smart City implementation has two effects:
1. It encourages individuals to make more effective and sustainable use of public resources (bottom-up);
2. It enables service providers (such as utilities and transportation companies) and local governments to deliver more efficient and sustainable services (top-down). Understanding the impact of Smart Cities on urban environmental, social, and economic sustainability is crucial for establishing comprehensive and long-term urban solutions.
The Role of Psychology in Smart Cities
Overpopulation and overconsumption are two human behaviours posing great challenges to urban design and development. Consequently, reaching urban sustainability goals is dependent on widespread behavioural change.
With this in mind, psychologists and the general field of psychology may hold a greater role in the achievement of sustainable urban planning than we realised. For example, by assisting individual global urban citizens in adopting sustainable lifestyles and increasing their contributions to the environmental, economic, and social elements of sustainability. Since human behaviours are rooted in social situations, institutional contexts and cultural norms (Shove, 2010), individual adaptation and change — as well as personal agency — are also embedded within those socio-structural networks.
In their attempt to organise, coordinate, and govern human behaviours, social institutions define norms and resources. Human actions, on the other hand, build, implement, and change social structures. The aims of sustainable urban development, including political and environmental activities, are hinged on decentralized behavioural change engaging multiple facets and avenues of society. This is where the development and successful realization of Smart Cities comes in.
IoTs and Citizen Behavior
Smart Cities implement digital communication strategies and technologies, such as e-governance and e-democracy which enhance administration and good governance. The use of these technologies enhances augments and speeds communication feedback loops between local authorities and their citizens. This in turn results in effective political involvement among people and authorities improved as both sides feel involved and understood. In a Smart City, IoTs further promote access to public information and services while strengthening freedom of speech. Due of the lack of nonverbal politics in an online context, citizens prefer online engagement and conversation as these avenues minimize inequality biases based on race, gender, and disability.
Limitations in natural resources, intra- and intergenerational justice, integration of economic, social, and environmental concerns, and increased public engagement in decision-making should all be taken into account while creating urban sustainability.
Environmental policies and resource management practices that enable non-profit organisations and community environmental groups to play an important role in urban governance are used in sustainable development initiatives to achieve this. By creating central digital platforms with free access to information on the importance of these local initiatives in environmental protection, urban dwellers are better informed to adapt sustainable consumption behaviours.
Smart Cities are built on feedback from the local residents and the administration. Local communities’ interests, needs, and ambitions are dependent on the government’s ability to listen. Leaders may engage with and align their beliefs with those of the local community by co-creating a roadmap of the city’s future goals.
Ultimately cities that can establish psychological resilience, adapt, deal with adversity and complexity, bounce back, and continue to operate will be the most successful, creating the circumstances for residents to realise their greater goals.
In the past, the government has been traditionally built as separate entities with specific specialization. Through the rise of Conversational Intelligence® in projects like Smart Cities, and in the increase in the interconnectivity of stakeholders from government to business, from local to global, we can see people breaking down walls, listening to connect, asking questions that are bigger than they have ever asked before, and seeing extraordinary ways to enhance not only our cities, but to also enhance our planet!
-Judith E. Glaser
References:
Khansari, N., Mostashari, A., & Mansouri, M. (2014). Impacting sustainable behavior and planning in smart city. International journal of sustainable land Use and Urban planning, 1(2).
Owen, J. (2020). The Importance of Urban Design for Your Community. The Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC). https://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/March-2020/The-Importance-of-Urban-Design-for-Your-Community.aspx
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