Data Competition in the Name of Well-Being: A Study on Neighborhood Committees’ Translation Actions in “Smart Community” Construction

• In Event: “Smart Infrastructure” as Relational Practice: Cities, Nations and Corporate Strategies in Framing Future Cities

Abstract

In the construction of “smart city” infrastructure, it is an important part to obtain residents' daily living, travel and health data by putting various information collection devices. In recent years, Chinese government vigorously advocates the construction of “smart cities” and “smart communities” by administrative planning, with the aim of providing residents with more convenient living services. While enterprises of all sizes have taken this opportunity to enter the community providing public services such as informatized, intelligent security, environmental sanitation, transportation, logistics, and health management in form of “undertaking governmental functions” or “public-private partnership”. In the process of realizing the government/market dual goal of “science and technology benefiting people” / “acquiring data”, the neighborhood committee, as a statutory mass organization of urban communities in China, plays a central role in linking government, market, social organizations and community residents.
Based on a survey of three typical communities in Changsha, a provincial capital city in central China, i.e. (1) high-income villas, (2) office dwelling areas, (3) collective resettlement areas for demolished households, this study explores how the neighborhood committees mutual translate well-being discourse and data economy in urban communities with different income levels, different lifestyles and different geographical composition, which shape the vision of “smart community” into different types.
Contemporary cities are under transformation with characteristics that population composition is changing constantly, and the income stratification is becoming obvious. In this context, this study provides insights for understanding the collective action path to “smart city” infrastructure construction.

Authors

• Jun-hui Shen, Changsha Uuiversity of Science and Technology

• Tao Ma, Changsha University of Science and Technology

• Yan-hong Zhou, Changsha University of Science and Technology

• Miao Liao, Changsha University of Science and Technology