Blay_Accepted version-Cities at risk.pdf (403.84 kB)
Cities at risk? Exploring the synergies between smartphones and everyday vulnerabilities
journal contribution
posted on 2018-07-23, 10:23 authored by Ebenezer F. Amankwaa, Karen BlayKaren BlaySmartphones present new forms of spatiality and sociality for cities worldwide. The sudden outburst in smartphone technologies has revolutionised human relations creating new possibilities of encounter and connectivity. This paper examines people's smartphone usage patterns and highlights how this is increasing human vulnerabilities in cities with resultant wider societal implications. Drawing on the theory of vulnerability, Hofstede's cultural dimension theory and carrying out semi-structured interviews in the United Kingdom and Ghana, the paper reveals that the current scale of usage and addiction to smartphones and social media are fostering emerging forms of everyday vulnerabilities. Victimisation, privacy breach, home emergencies and road accidents are prevalent vulnerabilities in both Accra and London. By comparing participants' smartphone usage patterns
and their motives for adopting or ignoring certain social media practices, the study illustrates how the concept of
attitudinal vulnerability extends our understanding of Hofstede's theory of collectivism and individualism. While
the finding from Accra complicates Hofstede's collectivism label as there seems to be a loss of genuine sense of
care and people-centeredness among participants it confirms individualism tendencies among the participants in
London though some tendencies of ‘virtual collectivism’ were observed. In conclusion, the study emphasises how
significant behavioural changes among smartphone users can reduce human-induced vulnerabilities in cities. By so doing, we add weight to the literature that focuses on the importance of developing context-specific cutting edge ICT policies vis-a-vis building smart, safe and sustainable cities.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Published in
CitiesCitation
AMANKWAA, E.F. and BLAY, K.B., 2018. Cities at risk? Exploring the synergies between smartphones and everyday vulnerabilities. Cities, 83, pp.129-139.Publisher
© ElsevierVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Cities and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.015.Acceptance date
2018-06-23Publication date
2018-07-04ISSN
0264-2751Publisher version
Language
- en