Tyrrell, Sarah Marie (2022) The Right to The Smart City: An assessment of the implications of smart city policies on aged 60+ residents living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Master thesis.
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The Right to the Smart City - An assessment of the implications of smart city policies on aged 60+ residents living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets - Sarah Marie Tyrrell.pdf Download (13MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Smart city policies have been introduced into the City of London in the last 10 years, and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets over the last 5 years. As smart city policies continue to reshape the capital, little research has been attributed to understanding how smart city policies affect the ever-growing ageing urban populations globally, and in London. This research assesses the implications of smart city policies on residents aged 60+ in the Borough of Tower Hamlets. The framework of smart cities posed by Nam and Pardo (2019) is adopted to determine how smart city policies in the domains of increasing technology, institutional civic engagement strategies, and smart human-centered community strategies have affected aged 60+ residents. A mixed-methods research approach is undertaken, which data triangulates between eight semi-structured interviews, online and paper surveys (N= 200), and eight policy documents published by governmental departments in London and Tower Hamlets. Collectively, the data was also structured analysed in relation to the smart city framework outlined by Nam and Pardo (2011). The research conclusions suggest that aged 60+ residents feel that they are under-consulted in local decision-making processes. On average, they had lower levels of internet access than their younger counterparts, and many participants felt that they did not have the skill set to operate smart technologies, or online services that the borough offer. This led to feelings of exclusion amongst some interview participants, but among others, smart technology within their home led to increased feelings of independence, and inclusion within new hybridised virtual communities. Older residents were also generally more involved in community events, especially community events organised by NGO’s which support active ageing. The Borough of Tower Hamlets do provide internet training sessions for older residents, and a community ambassador scheme whereby younger residents volunteer to assist older residents, however the awareness, uptake and success of these schemes has significant room for improvement. Overall, this study contributes to a relatively under-explored field of ageing in places where smart city agendas are adopted ,and encourages further research to explore the localised effects of smart city policies on older residents, and their right to participate in the smart city.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Kann, F.M.G. van |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2022 08:56 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2022 08:56 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4044 |
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