Discourse and Reality of Smart City in Post-Growth Society: A Case Study of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
This study uses the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan as a case study to examine how smart city planning, which makes use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet of Things (IoT), affects the lives of urban residents, the redevelopment of urban spaces and the response to urban problems. In particular, we will critically study how the concepts, plans and policies concerning smart city in the urban and suburban areas of Tokyo metropolitan area are implemented and how they affect the lives of urban residents, focusing on the discourse on smart cities.
[Research Questions]
How are the smart city concepts planned and implemented in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan, a metropolis in a post-growth society and one of the most aging society in the world? How are they having a positive/negative impact on the urban population and on the urban inhabitants?
How are smart cities planned and implemented in Japan's metropolitan areas Smartmentality (Vanolo 2014), that is, The Smart City as a Disciplinary Strategy?
How is platform urbanism or technological urbanism (Sadowski 2021), dominated by platform capitalism by tech companies, accepted (or not) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan?
Are there any harmful effects or conflicts caused by "tech goggles" (Green 2019) in smart cities in Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan?
To answer these research questions, this paper analyses discourses on smart cities.
[Methodology]
The Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD) is used in this study as a method for analysing the discourse of policy documents and data based on interviews with relevant actors.
[Anticipated Outcomes]
The study reveals that smart city planning in post-growth ageing society, while partially successful, has created a small number of conflicts.