Towns and Cities in the Information Society

Text: Boglárka Barsi

The concept of smart cities dates back to the 1980s. In the beginning, emphasis was on the infrastructural and economic aspects of the information society. From the early 21st century on, a new way of thinking appeared in which technology was no longer an objective, but a device instead; settlements, the various communities, people active in business life, and the population collaborated to implement a new innovative type of design based on participation, which is targeted to efficiently use resources, lower energy-consumption, and in the long run, to create a „liveable” town. This is the concept of a smart city. The welfare of city-dwellers and their happiness had a key role back in the ancient times in the philosophy focussing on the city. The city or town is not only a physical mechanism, or an artificial construction. The city is made up by people who also manage it. It is a natural product, the produce of human nature.