# Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia

**Published by:** [The Slow Hunch by Nick Grossman](https://nickgrossman.xyz/)
**Published on:** 2013-09-30
**URL:** https://nickgrossman.xyz/smart-cities-big-data%2C-civic-hackers%2C-and-the-quest-for-a-new-utopia

## Content

Here’s a plug for Anthony Townsend's new book, Smart Cities (which I haven’t read yet but have discussed with him throughout the making). I can’t wait to get my hands on it, and suspect that it’ll be an enlightening read for anyone watching the “smart cities” / “civic hacking” space. The angle I’m most interested in is this one, mentioned the Kirkus review:Townsend especially focuses on the clash between industry’s cookie-cutter approach to smart-city building and the quirky local approach of civic hackers pushing decentralized and democratic alternatives. The author, who has been personally involved in creating free public Wi-Fi, sympathizes with young people, who have been weaned on the mobile Web and social media and are experimenting with human-centered designs based on grass-roots smart-city technologies—e.g., mobile apps, community wireless networks and open-source microcontrollers. Townsend covers topics from mass urban surveillance to how the poor can benefit from smart technologies, and he offers his own principles for creating human-centered smart cities. Authoritative, information-packed must-read for urban policymakers.Congrats Anthony on getting this up and out!

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