The focus of all efforts must be on the needs of the population.
By Lucía Bellocchio, Director of the Diploma in Smart Cities of the School of Government of the Universidad Austral
Published in clarin.com
When it comes to smart cities, thinking about creative designs and innovative solutions doesn't necessarily mean the latest technological innovations or cutting-edge architecture. At its best, creativity, built through dialogue between multiple disciplines, will have citizens at the heart of its inspiration and at the end of its actions.
In this scenario, the pace of innovation can only be measured by developing people-centered solutions to improve their experiences and quality of life in urban spaces. Creativity to think differently, innovation to build collectively.
To achieve the development of inclusive, equitable cities that guarantee the protection of the human rights of their residents, the focus of all efforts must be on the needs of the population.
As obvious as it may seem, this is not always considered when designing public policies with local impact. And this is where the capacity to innovate comes into play, actively involving city residents in building solutions.
Strengthening ties with citizens and making them increasingly transparent should be the primary objective of any decision that seeks to integrate diverse communities and revolutionize stagnant and bureaucratic management practices.
The exchange of diverse ideas and experiences within each urban space will be the driving force behind building solutions with citizens that provide a better quality of life, promote social cohesion, and foster sustainable development.
Far from needing to imagine futuristic cities or cities outside our reality, innovation and creativity can be applied to transform the everyday movements that people make in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and places they frequent daily.
Creativity can be applied to develop technology through public-private partnerships that are functional to the goal of creating more and better solutions with fewer resources. It can also create spaces for citizen participation and empowerment, enabling citizens to lead innovation based on a deeper understanding of the issues they face: being inhabitants of the space they seek to transform.
Green spaces, better education and social services, health and economic prosperity are fundamental areas where creativity and innovation can make a difference.
Cities face challenges such as social inequality and the impact of the climate crisis, among other growing problems, in a context of rapid digital transformation. Local political leaders must be willing to convene interdisciplinary and community dialogue to create solutions that support urban social reconfiguration, generate prosperity, and drive the development of their communities.
Creative thinking will make it possible to find new ways to place citizens at the center of public policies, to measure the impact of state decisions based on data, and to scale solutions so that they reach the entire population.
Innovation can point the way to overcoming the bureaucracy that often characterizes state apparatuses, which are increasingly detached from the needs of people living in cities.
Constant dialogue with the local population by the authorities and citizen participation as an essential element in decision-making and approval of policies that will impact daily life will be possible to the extent that creativity and innovation are at the service of restructuring the rhythms, scenarios and dynamics in cities.
