The Unsmart City: pitfalls of predictability - Copenhagen

This chapter explores how smart city technologies affect the experience of the built city. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is used as a case study as the city that has a progressive approach to implementing smart city solutions and because Denmark is among the most digitalized countries in the world. The smart city concept is discussed in relation to the qualities of urban predictability, and three aspects of smart cities are identified: a) densification and layering, b) intelligent surfaces, and c) digital surveillance. The aspects are approached through theoretical insights drawn from the social sciences, architecture and urbanism, and the dilemmas associated with the optimization of urban spaces are exemplified by contemporary cases. The chapter concludes that the lesson from Copenhagen is that changes imposed by smart city technologies happen almost imperceptibly, and stresses the importance of being aware of the interests at stake when decisions concerning digital solutions are made.