This document summarizes a presentation on smart cities given by Alain Renk. It discusses some of the downsides of smart cities, including their focus on short-term optimization and passive consumers rather than urban design. It argues that future cities require a hybrid digital and physical design strategy that moves beyond smart cities to focus on proactive citizens through adaptive urban design, innovation through open infrastructures, and distributed empowerment. The presentation outlines a new urban design strategy of building metamorphosis through these principles of contributive cities.

1. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : Olivier Ratsy (AntiVJ)
F R O M S M A RT C I T I E S
T O B U G C I T I E S ?
N O P ES M A RT C I T I E S A N D
U R B A N P L A N N I N G
A N A LT E R N AT I V E

2. S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 alain renk
I am architect, urban designer and strategic advisor for
the digital city for Mines-Telecom Research Institute
I speak here on my own behalf and as co-founder of
an architecture office, a start-up and an international
non profit tech venture
F R O M S M A R T C I T I E S
T O B U G C I T I E S ?
A L A I N R E N K

3. S M A R T C I T I E S
The results will go far beyond added technical skills
to the cities we know or we will build. It will be about
a deep metamorphosis. It will be about building the
cities of the future that will combine brick, mortar,
knowledge, collaboration and empowerment.
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 alain renk
A S H I F T I S C O M I N G

4. S M A R T C I T I E S
1 The problems with smart cities
2 New paradigm : all cities are digital cities
3 A new urban planning strategy
O U T L I N E
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 alain renk

5. T H E D I G I TA L S I D E
S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : Olivier Ratsy (AntiVJ)

6. A N O T H E R I D E A L ( T E C H ) C I T Y ?
D I G I TA L S I D E
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : EXIT MAC Créteil
Optimization
Sustainability
Security

7. • Q U A N T I F I E D S E L F
• D I G I TA L H E A LT H
• G E O - L O C A L I S AT I O N
• FA C I A L R E C O G N I T I O N
• D R I V E R L E S S C A R S
• D R O N E S
• U B I Q U I T O U S S E C U R I T Y C A M E R A
* I n t e r n e t o f T h i n g s
D O H U M A N S D R E A M
A B O U T I o T L A N D S C A P E ?
D I G I TA L S I D E
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

8. T H E P H Y S I C A L S I D E
S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
eg : roads, buildings...
O N E B I L L I O N S S L U M D W E L L E R S T O D AY
T W O B I L L I O N S S L U M D W E L L E R S 2 0 2 5

9. P H Y S I C A L S I D E
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
I S U R B A N
P L A N N I N G
L E S S
T O P - D O W N
S I N C E
I N T E R N E T ?
(the exception that proves the rule)

10. P H Y S I C A L S I D E
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
D O E S
U R B A N
P L A N N I N G
N E E D A N
U P D AT E ?

11. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
FROM
SMART CITIES
TO
BUG CITIES?
F U T U R E O F C I T I E S I S N O T F U T U R E O F S E R V I C E S

12. FA C T S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
S M A R T C I T I E S A R E
• T E C H O R I E N T E D
• D O N ' T C A R E A B O U T U R B A N D E S I G N
• P R O M O T E T H E F U T U R E O F S E R V I C E S
L I K E S M A R T PA R K I N G S , S M A R T G R I D S ,
S M A R T B U I L D I N G , S M A R T R O B O T S . . .

13. I T C O U L D B E U N C O M F O R TA B L E
S M A RT C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk 11/20 - Courtesy : Real Humans
C O U R T E S Y : R E A L H U M A N S
Dysfunctional Robot

14. "I think that the model of "intelligent cities" (...)
misses this opportunity to urbanize the technologies
they mobilize, and futilely seeks to eliminate
incompleteness. The planners of intelligent cities,
notably Songdo in South Korea actually make these
technologies invisible, and hence put them in
command rather than in dialogue with users. One
effect is that intelligent cities represent closed
systems, and that is a pity. It will cut their lives short.
They will become obsolete sooner."
Saskia Sassen "Open Source Urbanism" DOMUS June 2011
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
Numerous books and the famous “The Global City”
(Princeton University Press 1991/2001).
S M A R T C I T I E S

15. "Is it possible for developers in “new” cities like Masdar or Palava
in India to be able to comprehensively map out how the city will
work and anticipate its problems (...)?
What saddens me is that we’ve been down this road before —
time and time again, in fact, in the latter part of the twentieth
century. We know how this story ends, and it isn’t pretty.
There’s a reason why Corbusian total planning is thoroughly
discredited.
Understanding why top-down total planning doesn’t, and
can’t, produce vital human communities from scratch is
something that smart-city enthusiasts might have gleaned from
even a cursory review of the urbanist canon."
Adam Greenfield "More questions on the smart city may 2014"
"Against the smart city" (The city is here for you to use)
"Everyware" : The dawning age of ubiquitous computing
Urban Computing and its Discontents" Architectural League of New York’s
Situated Technologies series
S M A R T C I T I E S ( M O R E Q U E S T I O N O N . . . )

16. T H E D O W N S I D E :
S H O R T- T E R M I S M
D I G I TA L S I D E : F O C U S I N G O N ( VA N I S H I N G ) H U M A N
B E I N G , T H E PA S S I V E C O N S U M E R S
P H Y S I C A L S I D E : O P T I M I Z AT I O N O F
( D Y S F U N C T I O N A L ) P R E - I N T E R N E T U R B A N S Y S T E M S
S M A RT C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : Olivier Ratsy (AntiVJ)

17. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
FROM
SMART CITIES
TO
BUG CITIES?
F U T U R E O F C I T I E S I S N O T F O C U S I N G O N
PA S S I V E C O N S U M E R S
F U T U R E O F C I T I E S I S N O T O P T I M I Z AT I O N O F
P R E - I N T E R N E T U R B A N S Y S T E M S

18. W E N E E D A H Y B R I D
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y
S M A R T C I T I E S
D I G I TA L + P H Y S I C A L

19. S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
A S T O RY O F C I T I E S ( A B S T R A C T )
M E S O P O TA M I A
( N O T O N LY FA R M E R S )
I N D U S T R I A L C I T I E S
( B E T W E E N T W O I N V E N T I O N S : S T E A M A N D I N T E R N E T )
S M A R T C I T I E S
( O P T I M I Z AT I O N O F I N D U S T R I A L C I T I E S : N O W )
C O N T R I B U T I V E C I T I E S
( C O U L D B E T H E F U T U R E O F C I T I E S )

20. D I S R U P T I O N
F R O M C O N S U M E R O R I E N T E D C I T I E S
T O P R O - A M U S E R C I T I Z E N S
FROM PRE-INTERNET URBAN PLANNING
TO NEXT-GEN URBAN DESIGN
S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : Olivier Ratsy (AntiVJ)
( C I T Y S O F T WA R E )
( C I T Y H A R D WA R E )

21. D I S R U P T I O N
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy : Alain Kay
T H E P O I N T O F N O - R E T U R N
I F Y O U A R E A N U R B A N
P L A N N E R R E A L LY S E R I O U S
A B O U T C I T I E S Y O U
S H O U L D C O - D E S I G N T H E
D I G I TA L S K I N T O O
H A R D WA R E
S O F T WA R E

22. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk - Courtesy Siegfried Giedon
R E A L T I M E + T I M E T I M E
U B I Q U I T O U S S PA C E + S PA C E S PA C E=
=
D E T E R M I N I S T C H A O S A R C H I T E C T U R E=

23. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
D I G I TA L C I T Y C I T Y=

24. B E Y O N D S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
M O N E Y I S N O T A P R O B L E M

25. YOU CAN MERGE A 1000 BILLION $ MARKET
(CITIES*) TO A 39 BILLION (SMART CITIES**),
IMPROVING THE VALUE OF EACH
* CITIES INFRACTRUCTURE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE 2016
"Global Construction Perspectives 2025" Oxford Economics
** DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE / IoT/BIG DATA 2016
ABI Research Cap Digital
O P E N M O N E Y
B E Y O N D S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

26. U R B A N D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y
B E Y O N D S M A R T C I T I E S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

27. A G I L E D E V E L O P M E N T >
A D A P TAT I V E U R B A N D E S I G N
F R O M D I G I TA L C O N C E P T S T O C I T Y P L A N I N G
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

28. I N F R A S T R U C T U R E N E U T R A L I T Y >
I N N O VAT I O N B Y A S S E M B L A G E
F R O M D I G I TA L C O N C E P T S T O C I T Y P L A N I N G
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

29. D I S T R I B U T I V E I N T E L L I G E N C E >
V I R A L E M P O W E R M E N T
F R O M D I G I TA L C O N C E P T S T O C I T Y P L A N I N G
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -

30. D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
B U I L D I N G T H E M E TA M O R H O S I S
# 1 A D A P TAT I V E U R B A N D E S I G N
# 2 I N N O VAT I O N B Y A S S E M B L A G E
# 3 V I R A L E M P O W E R M E N T
( C O N T R I B U T I V E C I T I E S )

31. U N L I M I T E D . C I T I E S B Y U F O
P U B L I C I M A G I N AT I O N
E N Q U I RY
( L O C A L S C A L E )
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P P E M E N T U F O
R & D U F O I N S T I T U T M I N E S - T E L E C O M
P R O J E C T R + P A R C H I T E C T S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y

32. U N L I M I T E D C I T I E S B Y U F O
P U B L I C I M A G I N AT I O N
E N Q U I RY
( L O C A L S C A L E )
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P P E M E N T U F O
R & D U F O I N S T I T U T M I N E S - T E L E C O M
P R O J E C T R + P A R C H I T E C T S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
U N L I M I T E D . C I T I E S
1 5 6 2 5 S O L U T I O N S
T H O U S A N D S O F C I T I Z E N S
C O L L E C T I V E I N T E L L I G E N C E
O P E N D ATA
L E A R N I N G B Y D O I N G
O P E N C I T I E S A WA R D E U R O P E A N C O M M I S S I O N
N O V 2 0 1 3 B A R C E L O N A
PA R I S R E N N E S E V R E U X E V RY H E L S I N K Y
A N T O N Y I V RY . . . . . > R I O S E N D A I B E R G E N
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P P E M E N T U F O
R & D U F O I N S T I T U T M I N E S - T E L E C O M
P R O J E C T R + P A R C H I T E C T S
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y

33. U R B A N D A S H B Y U F O
D Y N A M I C E VA L U AT I O N
A N D R E P R E S E N TAT O N O F
T H E Q U A L I T Y O F L I F E
( G L O B A L S C A L E )
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P P E M E N T U F O
R & D U F O I N S T I T U T M I N E S - T E L E C O M
P R O J E C T R + P A R C H I T E C T S
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y

34. Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014 - alain renk -
U R B A D I V E R S I T Y. O R G
M U LT I C U LT U R A L I N T E R N AT I O N A L
N O N P R O F I T T E C H V E N T U R E
F R E E C O L L E C T I V E U R B A N I S M
T O O L S F O R E V E RY B O D Y
E V E RY W H E R E ( C O N N E C T E D )
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y

35. T H A N K Y O U
Franco-British bilateral workshop on ICT in Future Cities 14-15th May 2014
Alain Renk
alain.renk@urbanfab.org
www.unlimitedcities.org
D E S I G N S T R AT E G Y