Are libraries the real SMART infrastructure of civic wellbeing?
The term ‘Smart City’ was coined over a decade ago to express how technology, digitalisation, data, and the resulting information could transform the urban environment and citizens' lives. A humble piece of ubiquitous infrastructure – the street lamp - was touted a catalyst for SMARTness by being not only a source of lighting, but also a platform to monitor traffic, report accidents or crime and be a charging point for electric vehicles.
Yet in a book written in 1931 - the Epic of America - author James Truslow Adams conceived the term the American Dream in which “each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” He saw this made concrete in the public reading room of US Library of Congress.
We see inspiring work done by libraries today, now going far beyond offering books and spaces to read to contribute to quality of life. This video from Christchurch City Libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand is a good example for this.
According to the writer Michael Sandel, the creation of such common goods using the accumulated resources of the people themselves provided by their own democratic process is the basis for the welfare of society and common good.
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Are libraries the real SMART infrastructure of civic wellbeing?
The term ‘Smart City’ was coined over a decade ago to express how technology, digitalisation, data, and the resulting information could transform the urban environment and citizens' lives. A humble piece of ubiquitous infrastructure – the street lamp - was touted a catalyst for SMARTness by being not only a source of lighting, but also a platform to monitor traffic, report accidents or crime and be a charging point for electric vehicles.
Yet in a book written in 1931 - the Epic of America - author James Truslow Adams conceived the term the American Dream in which “each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” He saw this made concrete in the public reading room of US Library of Congress.
We see inspiring work done by libraries today, now going far beyond offering books and spaces to read to contribute to quality of life. This video from Christchurch City Libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand is a good example for this.
According to the writer Michael Sandel, the creation of such common goods using the accumulated resources of the people themselves provided by their own democratic process is the basis for the welfare of society and common good.
Interested in more stories like this? Sign up to our monthly newsletter.
Are libraries the real SMART infrastructure of civic wellbeing?
The term ‘Smart City’ was coined over a decade ago to express how technology, digitalisation, data, and the resulting information could transform the urban environment and citizens' lives. A humble piece of ubiquitous infrastructure – the street lamp - was touted a catalyst for SMARTness by being not only a source of lighting, but also a platform to monitor traffic, report accidents or crime and be a charging point for electric vehicles.
Yet in a book written in 1931 - the Epic of America - author James Truslow Adams conceived the term the American Dream in which “each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” He saw this made concrete in the public reading room of US Library of Congress.
We see inspiring work done by libraries today, now going far beyond offering books and spaces to read to contribute to quality of life. This video from Christchurch City Libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand is a good example for this.
According to the writer Michael Sandel, the creation of such common goods using the accumulated resources of the people themselves provided by their own democratic process is the basis for the welfare of society and common good.
Interested in more stories like this? Sign up to our monthly newsletter.
