E020 Surviving Society with The Sociological Review: Ayona Datta

What do people mean when they talk about the 'smart city', and can the smart city ever be inclusive? In our second episode recorded in collaboration with The Sociological Review, Chantelle, Tissot and Saskia talk to Dr Ayona Datta about her work on urban transformations in Indian cities. Ayona argues that we need to be skeptical about whether smart cities can really address deep-rooted inequalities - smart water meters are useless if there's no infrastructure for clean running water. Tissot tells us about the creative uses of smart technology by homeless people living in London's financial district, showing that, although digital divides run across class lines, smart technology can change our cities in unplanned and exciting ways. Warning: This episode contains some academic jargon. Edited by Art of Podcast Recorded in Gateshead at The Sociological Review conference, June 2018 Special thanks to Michaela Benson and everyone at The Sociological Review