In techno-centric smart cities, smartness is a technologically induced and enabled state where urban dwellers' future must be migrated. This form of smartness is, in short, machine-oriented, externally managed by a few players, invading the civil space of cities and is void of citizens' voice and agency over its directionality. The global awareness of the inadequacy of these visions in protecting citizens' rights and their ability to deliver livable, resilient and sustainable urban systems has led to a counter-smart movement. Cities' authorities, urban scientists, technology developers, and citizens gradually realise that building smarter systems takes more than technology. The Mindful Smart Cities framework is developed with similar awareness and a deep understanding that, in reality, techno-centricity is not a sin per se; it is a paradigm. It can change. However, changing paradigms requires a worldwide systemic change at various layers. By offering an action-oriented road map, Mindful Smart Cities provides a therapeutic and alternative pathway for transforming smart cities and citizens' lives from the inside out. In this vision, a city that uses technology in all its shapes and forms to improve the human condition without reducing humanity's life experience into some algorithmically curated and controlled state of being is called 'Mindful Smart Cities'. And anyone actively improving the quality of human life is an important part of the equation and, therefore, seen as a Mindful, Smart Citizen.
About the speaker
Dr Shima Beigi holds BSc, MSc, MSc and PhD from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford. She specialised in the resilience of complex systems and smart city design, which she took to a higher level by integrating universal bodies of wisdom worldwide. Her PhD thesis, Mindfulness Engineering, was her first entry toward changing the current mechanical and top-down paradigm of design and living. In Mindful Smart Cities, she addresses the same pattern in the tech industry and provides a systemic manifesto-style roadmap for the future of smart city practice. Her book and philosophy result from more than 20 years of practice in engineering, complex systems, health and longevity as a certified yoga teacher and her work on the intersection of science and spirituality. She is currently CEO and Founder of Triple AI Therapeutics for Mindful Smart Cities, a blockchain and AI company she co-founded after her book's successful launch and the growing positive feedback on the need for more mindful and systemic approaches to smart cities.
Practical
The CLEA seminars are taking place simultaneously at the VUB campus in Etterbeek, Brussels, and online (via Zoom) and are open to everyone interested!
When. Friday April 28, 2023 from 14:00 until 16:00h
Where. VUB campus Etterbeek, room D.1.07.
Online. You can follow the seminar online via Zoom. You may need a Meeting ID and passcode to enter.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82757798426?pwd=em9sQlJDVjJYTEFRNk01dEJLWGxGUT09
Meeting ID: 827 5779 8426
Passcode: 122127
Video of the seminar
