Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice

Abstract Critical smart city research has presented wide-ranging risks of technocentric urban development. One critique lies in the kinds of citizenship directed under smart urban paradigms, which do little to account for residents’ practices of care. This paper is an ethico-onto-epistemological re-...

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Main Authors: Sara Zaman, Suvielise Nurmi, Christopher M. Raymond
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:Urban Transformations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-024-00068-0
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author Sara Zaman
Suvielise Nurmi
Christopher M. Raymond
author_facet Sara Zaman
Suvielise Nurmi
Christopher M. Raymond
author_sort Sara Zaman
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Critical smart city research has presented wide-ranging risks of technocentric urban development. One critique lies in the kinds of citizenship directed under smart urban paradigms, which do little to account for residents’ practices of care. This paper is an ethico-onto-epistemological re-examination of smart cities through the lens of care practices specifically focusing on creative communities of practice. We use an enactivist empirical approach to help uncover experiences of sensemaking in the smart city held by three creative communities of practice in Helsinki. Through in-depth interviews with n = 22 urban planners, artists, and community space organizers, we assessed these groups’ differing and overlapping sensemaking processes. Utilizing 5E sensemaking processes (embodied, extended, enacted, emotive, and embedded) as a flexible analytical framework, we identify and interpret their practices of care as ways of sensemaking in a developing smart urban environment. Our results depict terrains of care in which participation and citizenship in the smart city is not neutral, but embedded in affective engagement, navigating rules and institutions, and cultivation of joy and inspiration. We use our findings to discuss what these interweaving terrains of care mean for citizenship and transformational change in the smart city.
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spelling doaj-art-b6b8b51e95ca4d4cada5348869aa7aa02024-11-10T12:28:18ZengBMCUrban Transformations2524-81622024-11-016111910.1186/s42854-024-00068-0Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practiceSara Zaman0Suvielise Nurmi1Christopher M. Raymond2Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of HelsinkiFaculty of Theology, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Economics and Management, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of HelsinkiAbstract Critical smart city research has presented wide-ranging risks of technocentric urban development. One critique lies in the kinds of citizenship directed under smart urban paradigms, which do little to account for residents’ practices of care. This paper is an ethico-onto-epistemological re-examination of smart cities through the lens of care practices specifically focusing on creative communities of practice. We use an enactivist empirical approach to help uncover experiences of sensemaking in the smart city held by three creative communities of practice in Helsinki. Through in-depth interviews with n = 22 urban planners, artists, and community space organizers, we assessed these groups’ differing and overlapping sensemaking processes. Utilizing 5E sensemaking processes (embodied, extended, enacted, emotive, and embedded) as a flexible analytical framework, we identify and interpret their practices of care as ways of sensemaking in a developing smart urban environment. Our results depict terrains of care in which participation and citizenship in the smart city is not neutral, but embedded in affective engagement, navigating rules and institutions, and cultivation of joy and inspiration. We use our findings to discuss what these interweaving terrains of care mean for citizenship and transformational change in the smart city.https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-024-00068-0Smart cityEnactivismEmbodimentCommunities of PracticeCare
spellingShingle Sara Zaman
Suvielise Nurmi
Christopher M. Raymond
Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
Urban Transformations
Smart city
Enactivism
Embodiment
Communities of Practice
Care
title Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
title_full Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
title_fullStr Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
title_full_unstemmed Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
title_short Terrains of care in the smart city: sensemaking by creative communities of practice
title_sort terrains of care in the smart city sensemaking by creative communities of practice
topic Smart city
Enactivism
Embodiment
Communities of Practice
Care
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-024-00068-0
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