Collecting stories instead of data, to find out what problems we need technology to solve.
What you will get out of this workshop
This workshop will take place at Westside Slotermeer. Westside Slotermeer is a unique collaboration that aims to foster and develop the talents of the neigbourhood’s inhabitants. Workshop participants will be matched with inhabitants of Slotermeer, to find out what the concept of ‘smart’ means to people living off of the Smart City ‘radar’: the unusual suspects.
The matched teams will take on a task that citizens have dreaded to take on, for instance renewing a home care contract or finding out where to find support for a neighbourhood initiative. During their time together, workshop participants will qualitatively research how citizens deal with urban challenges on a daily basis. The session will be concluded by detecting what major themes were identified and what lessons can be drawn from these everyday experiences – and in what ways Smart City concepts will be able to improve these lives.
The teams will be provided with easy-to-use thematic conversation prompts, that will help make the experience valuable for all people involved.
Workshop theme
In a time where technology is increasingly hailed as a solution for complex social issues, it’s essential to realise that the main challenge isn’t technological, but social and governmental. Creating space for citizens to assume a larger role in solving social matters, and facilitating that from across all government silos are among the challenges that will need to be addressed.
During this workshop we will re-evaluate the role of the (metropolitan) government & service providers, and qualitatively research how ‘unusual suspects’ deal with urban challenges on a daily basis. At the end of the workshop we will lead a session in which we will discuss what main themes can be distilled across the teams, as well as how the participants experienced the process.
We are looking for participants who are eager to engage in a hands on discussion by venturing out into a neighbourhood in Amsterdam.
Organisers
Kennisland in collaboration with Creative Interventions Amsterdam. Please refer to the Kennisland website for the bios of Thijs van Exel and Tessa de Geus.
Date and location
Workshop 8
Title: Smart enough for the Smart City? The citizen’s perspective on dealing with urban challenges
Date: 22/4 10:00 – 17:00
Location: Westside Slotermeer, Burgemeester de Vlugtlaan 125 1063 BJ, Amsterdam (link to Google Maps)
Website: https://www.kl.nl/en/events/re-designing-the-government-of-a-smart-city/
E-mail: tg@kl.nl
