The new economic system is creating a radically reworked definition of urban life: the smart city. The term smart city is derived from the combination of the words "smart" and "city" and it is a political-technical assemblage that relates to the new system. Smart cities, in other words, are assemblages of new assets for capital circulation and rationalities within cities.
In smart cities, people and technology are used to better their lives. Data is the foundation for smart city applications. Agencies can watch events unfold, understand patterns and respond faster and cheaper to issues. Population and street counts are the primary data sources for smart cities. This data is collected from millions of devices across the city. Once a city is equipped with these sensors, it can make decisions based on demographics, location, and social trends.
Boosters of smart cities are too prone to assume that technology is benign and will solve problems. They intend to install networks of sensors and control mechanisms to achieve their goals. They fail to consider that these solutions may also be used for unintended ends. Smart cities require careful thought, but a neoliberal framework is often the most realistic model. In a neoliberal world, the role of government is to provide economic growth, which in turn requires that it create a thriving economy.