The world has witnessed rapid urbanization globally, attributable to factors such as higher potential in cities for mass production and growth of service industry, more adaptable societal values, more effective and well-trenched mode of governance and increasing forms of configuring human settlements in cities. This unprecedented growth of urban population globally has led to a sense of urgency to find solutions to address the challenges of growth and tackle a variety of risks, concerns and problems associated with rapid urbanization. There is a growing emphasis on knowledge based and technology based development of cities. Globally, the concept of ‘Knowledge cities’ and ‘Smart Cities’ have gained popularity to address the need for better quality of life, environmental sustainability and inclusiveness.
The concept of knowledge cities is embedded in the overarching framework of knowledge-based development (KBD) with continuous emphasis on creation, sharing, evaluation, renewal and updating of knowledge in the cities. Cities, to become knowledgeable, need to undertake a deliberate initiative to identify and develop their capital base in a balanced sustainable manner (World Capital Institute, 2008). The capital base mainly refers to the identity, intelligence, relational, financial, human, material and intangible types of capital of a city. Cities around the world have been focusing on retaining and attracting talented people/organisations, leveraging innovations as solutions for local problems and increasing their knowledge capacity. A year-on-year increase in the number of cities nominated to Annual Most Admired Knowledge Cities (MAKCi) Awards demonstrates the growing popularity of the concept of Knowledge Cities amongst city planners.
Smart Cities, on the other hand, focus on technological solutions to address the urban challenges. Smart cities integrate digital technologies into the physical, social, environment and governance structure of the cities making them more liveable as well as making their growth sustainable through continuous self-regulation and self- monitoring. A typical smart city framework includes diverse domains of city life which can be made smart through application of ICT. These may include smart governance, smart energy, smart building, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology, smart healthcare and smart citizen. The types of domains covered by a smart city can vary according to the needs of a city and there are no one-size-fit-all definitions of smart cities. Globally, numerous initiatives have been taken to build smart cities. For example, the city of Barcelona has already established itself as a smart city by using smart technologies for its city applications for example using sensor technologies for its irrigation system, data analytics for designing bus networks and smart traffic lights. Singapore is also continuously striving hard to become a smart nation by harnessing the power of networks, data and communication technologies to improve living, create economic opportunities and build closer communities. In India too, the ministry of urban development recently started a smart city mission for comprehensive development of 100 smart cities.
Cities are considered as engines of growth of a nation However, it is also true that a large segment of population will continue to be rural for several decades to come. A study by McKinsey predicts that 60% of India’s population will still be rural by 2030 (McKinsey, 2010). The holistic and inclusive development of a country can’t therefore ignore the rural perspective. A singular focus on creation of smart cities has the risk of polarized development. Besides, no amount of futuristic thinking about smart cities alone can cope with the accelerated and uncontrollable migration of people from rural to urban areas. It is therefore equally important to visualize and strive towards creating or transforming existing villages into smart villages and/or knowledge villages which compliment smart and knowledge cities.
It is also to be highlighted that the technology based smartness provides the capacity to self-regulate and self-monitor and ensures that the key infrastructure components continue to meet the demands of the citizens on a long term sustainable and coordinated basis. However, it is the knowledge dimension that develops the competence of the population through education, skill development and engaging the citizens in generation of products and services through local talent, entrepreneurship and innovation. Hence, it is important to blend the application of technology and knowledge based development thinking to create what can be called as Smart Knowledge habitats.
The aim of the conference on Smart Knowledge habitats is to offer a platform to bring forth the ideas, visions and proposition of researchers, professionals, academicians and participants from different fields of management to facilitate learning among the participants to better manage this strategic window of opportunity. This Conference is in continuum with the Research Project on Developing Flexible Knowledge Management Indices supported by the All India Council for Technical Education.