Justice by design: The case for equitable and inclusive smart cities for animal dwellers

Clara Mancini, Daniel Metcalfe, Orit Hirsch-Matsioulas

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

We extend to animal dwellers the values of equity and inclusivity, which inform existing conceptions of smart sustainable cities. Leveraging multispecies justice theory, we argue that just smart cities should offer animals opportunities to pursue biologically relevant goals and achieve basic species-specific capabilities. Through cases of human-animal cohabitation, we exemplify how just smart cities should: support animals' sensemaking of and interaction with urban affordances, enabling them to autonomously pursue their biological goals; manage affordances by balancing the interests of one species against the interests of other species, as well as the interests of individuals against the interests of groups; and account for different perspectives and narratives on interspecies relationships, when making and implementing decisions. We propose an iterative design model in which technological interventions informed by multispecies justice principles and multispecies empirical data enable the emergence of incrementally equitable and inclusive cohabitation forms for increasing ranges of species and individuals.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDesigning More-than-Human Smart Cities
Subtitle of host publicationBeyond Sustainability, Towards Cohabitation
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages189-204
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9780191980060
ISBN (Print)9780192884169
DOIs
StatePublished - 3 May 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Oxford University Press 2024. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Affordances
  • Designing just smart cities
  • Multispecies justice
  • Multispecies smart cities
  • Smart sustainable cities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • General Environmental Science
  • General Social Sciences
  • General Computer Science

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