SMART CITY & DICTATORSHIP

We frequently adopt a critical stance on social media, highlighting the shortcomings of urban design practices.
However, we have recently shifted our focus towards showcasing positive examples and promoting solution-oriented thinking as well.

Our latest post expressed our favorable opinion on the renovation of a train station in Brussels. We particularly praised certain design choices, emphasizing the station's open layout, expansive public space, and visual transparency. While we typically advocate for benches in the city, we acknowledged that due to the station's small size and high traffic, benches could be placed in close proximity and not directly in the train station.
Although the feedback was mostly positive, one comment offered a contrasting perspective.
We identified the commenter, who is known for having divergent views on the city and its significance. Despite the somewhat radical tone, we believe the comment was made with sincerity and good intentions.
On our video celebrating the station's open design, this individual shared the following comment.

Qoute:
"No benches is part of the Smart City (acronym for S-urveillance M-onitoring A-nalyse R-eport T-echnology) is not HUMAN. You HAVE TO move constantly, you may NOT stay at a place and meet or stop. That is the real project. (And you have no past, no future. Only instable behaviour, constant change, and EMPTINESS for the mind. History memoir quality solid stable and intelligence, gatherings for ALL is pure fa....cism) (only Youth and only agitation and emptiness) (Giovanezza, hymn of Italian fa....ists, Jugend, for na...is, Juventud, for Spanish fa..ists). Destroy every past and history and replace it by cult to emptiness. And conformist stupidity.
correction: Fa...cism hates intelligence, human free gatherings , own personality, but promotes mass Conformism events , festivals, all organised from TOP) , fa...cism hates exchanges, collective knowledge, history, quality, solid stability. Smart City is pure techno fa...cism"

We responded by expressing our gratitude for the comment, while also mentioning that we consider it somewhat extreme and lacking context. Nevertheless, we acknowledged that many of the points being raised are indeed valid.

In order to support our statement, we are sharing an illustration from our book. "The Urban Revolution is a Fun Sketch"
The illustration depicts two interpretation in one sketch.
- a person ensnared by the efficiency of smart city technology, or,
- a person trapped in a malfunctioning smart city.
This serves as a metaphor for a scenario where the urban space itself can become a dictator. In this kind of cases we tend to consider object as creators of authority and not the actor who has imposed the objects.