Field of study

By 2050, two-thirds of the population will live in cities and new urban citizens will reside in cities that are yet to be developed. The increasing size of modern cities, as well as their day-to-day growing complexity, necessitate that city stakeholders incorporate information and communication technologies in the provision of municipal public services. At the same time, they should include citizens and other stakeholders in the design of these services and technologies, while safeguarding the efficiency. In short: there is an urgency to make the smart city a shared city for all urban stakeholders.

How do we ensure inclusiveness, participation, and tolerance in the city when we make use of technology? How can we solve these issues in a smart way, for example with the help of ICT? We need professionals who understand the fallacy of a ‘technological fix’ and are knowledgeable about urban challenges and data potential, uphold public values and can work in complex environments and teams. These multilevel challenges run through this minor, in which the main learning goals concern the articulation of urban technologies and data science with citizen experience and multi-stakeholder governance. The learning goals concern knowledge, attitude, and skills which in combination need to equip students with a critical mindset that enables them to work towards public needs and interests in smart cities. This minor is multidisciplinary and built on a combination of data, urban, political, and social sciences.