RE: From Smart Cities to Intelligent Communities
Wow, you could have easily written this as a couple of posts (still could :-)). What an insightful set of comments.
One of the reasons I brought the SDGs into the discussion (yesterday's post) is that they're about creating a better society and world for everyone, not just those in the bubbles. From what I've read so far, Intelligent Communities have a goal of inclusiveness and creating opportunities within the knowledge economy so that, for instance, the women you're talking about might have the chance to exercise their (educated) minds more because they're participating in the knowledge economy and get greater economic opportunity as a result. Nifty example I heard about recently was tackling the subject of "Artificial Intelligence being a threat to people trying to get work in the developing world" - it turned that thesis on its head. In a slum in Nairobi (I think Kibera, but will have to check), slum residents who had basically nothing, not even hope, got involved in an AI project for fashion, of all things. Machines are good at recognising things they can recognise, if you know what I mean, and they need to be taught to recognise things like sleeves, collars, cuffs, hemlines...whatever. The slum dwellers were so successful at it that they moved out of the slums, started living in decent, safe housing, sent their kids to quality schools, had access to good medical care, bought cars - basically transformed their lives, all because they were able to teach machines something of value to the fashion industry. I won't be looking at the fashion industry in the same way again!
Where Intelligent Communities take themselves will have a lot to do with ethical leadership which actually wants to create a better, more inclusive and fair life for all residents...and by inclusive, I mean that not just bubble people should live there. All should have an opportunity to live safe and healthy lives, free from the scourge of crime and disease which affects the poor so much worse than those who can afford security and decent health care.
Hope that goes some way towards responding to your insights....
It does, and some of that is happening in Khayalitsha. Cape Cookies is a case in point. My point is: what happens in rural villages where 1. there is no broadband and, 2, they are miles from a any real market. Where we live, we have limited cell reception (non in and around our house) and even more limited access to broadband with only two free WiFi hotspots in the village which, as I noted has a very small population. The so-called afluent part of the population is made up of pensioners - fixed and limited incomes - and farmers who, contrary to legend, are not rich - they struggle - especially with the drought. The National Development Plan, and the Western Cape Provincial Government have all committed to making it - broadband - happen in the rural areas, but, as usual, haven't met their own deadlines.
Back to Coreen who works for me: she already has two business going - in addition to domestic work. She sells cleaning products and she caters. She does not let the grass grow under her feet. And I'd like to grow her into my embryonic business, but that also presumes that the business will grow. That, however, is a topic for another time.
As you may have gathered, I'm all for the underdog, and that said, I don't approve of the tall poppy syndrome, either, but I do worry about those who don't succeed and get left behind because they, for whatever reason, don't have confidence or drive of a person like Coreen, or the women in your case study.
All of that said, and what I do know, is that one also has to make peace with few the success stories that emerge from the morass. They provide others with both inspiration and something towards which they can aspire.
This is fascinating and I will continue to follow this with interest.
Thanks for engaging!