The purpose of this chapter is to provide a synthesis in terms of the key elements emerging throughout this book related to the range of constructs and dimensions identified in Chapter 1 and explored chapter by chapter that contribute to and constitute ambient urbanities. The conceptual framework for ambient urbanities is revisited and revised to reflect additional elements, dimensions, and constructs that became salient during the study. The synthesis provides an overview of the fuller picture developed in each chapter, enabling a graphic depiction of the interrelated elements – constructs, ambient dimensions, aspects and components, and research and practice directions. Tabular views enable a comparative look at a range of elements in relation to dimensions and constructs, such as issues, controversies, and problems; dependent and independent variables; insights; ideas; lessons; and the value advanced. The modularity of the ambient urbanities framework is described for flexible and adaptive use going forward.
Top1. Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a synthesis of the key elements emerging throughout this book related to the range of constructs and dimensions identified in Chapter 1 and explored chapter by chapter, that contribute to and constitute ambient urbanities. The conceptual framework for ambient urbanities is revisited and revised to reflect additional elements, dimensions, and constructs that became salient during the study. The synthesis provides an overview of the fuller picture developed in each chapter, enabling a graphic depiction of the interrelated elements – constructs; ambient dimensions; aspects and components; and research and practice directions. Tabular views enable a comparative look at a range of elements in relation to dimensions and constructs, such as: issues, controversies, and problems; dependent and independent variables; insights; ideas; lessons; and the value advanced. The modularity of the ambient urbanities framework is described for flexible and adaptive use going forward.
Further, this chapter provides a summary of the book with commentary on the conceptual framework for ambient urbanities going forward. Openings are suggested for new paths of inquiry, along with evolving methodologies, approaches, and practices for understanding, complementing, and extending Internet infrastructures. As such, this chapter points to the potential for ambient urbanities to open new spaces for a rethinking of many aspects of urban life while introducing novel perspectives and frames of reference from culture, to sharing and collaboration, to metrics for the analysis of 21st century cities, to information management, to learning, to name a few. The conceptual framework for ambient urbanities is revisited and revised in providing guidance on future direction for practitioners at the urban level and for researchers.
Objectives: The objective of this chapter is to provide a summary of the book in terms of: an overview of the key constructs and dimensions contributing to and constituting ambient urbanities; a synthesis of issues, problems, and controversies; the value of the ambient urbanities perspective marking the emergence of the ambient turn involving aware people and aware technologies; and directions for practice and research.
1.1 Background
Highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of ambient urbanities, this chapter provides a synthesis of the research literature presented throughout the book on smart cities (Gil-Garcia, Pardo, and Nam, 2016) in combination with that on the ambient (McKenna, 2017; McCullough, 2013); human geography (Lévy, 2015), urbanization (Brenner, 2017), and urbanism (Lévy, 2015); and pervasive and aware technologies contributing to smartness in government (Gil-Carcia, Zhang, and Puron-Cid, 2016). Schmitt (2017) argues for a movement from smart cities to responsive cities, cognizant of people in support of the notion of ambient urbanities developed throughout this work.
1.2 Overview
This chapter provides a synthesis of ambient urbanities in Section 2, highlighting frameworks and sub-frameworks developed; issues, controversies, and problems; variables surfaced; and insights, ideas, lessons, and value. Section 3 provides an overview of future directions for practice and research going forward and Section 4 highlights key limitations and provides concluding comments.
The primary audiences for this chapter include students, educators, researchers, policy makers, urban practitioners, city managers, architects, businesses, and community members concerned with urban future potentials in support of more aware people and aware technologies in the context of smarter, more responsive cities in the face of increasingly complex urban challenges and opportunities.