hunting ground for imported animals on the other hand (Orhai 2013) are bound to
increase environmental damage and the social divide even further. Allowing a tiny
minority to exploit ground, water, and natural resources while excluding the majority
of people from any chance to live in harmony with nature harms both the ecological
and the social pillar of SD as well as most SDGs (see above).
There are certainly better options for the implementation of SD in general and the
UN SDGs in particular than pushing Smart Cities as alternative-less solution for
existing problems or driving people out of the country side into crowded cities.
Viable alternatives include initiatives by committed citizens to make rural areas
more attractive by becoming energy-independent by renewable energies like biogas
or biowaste while creating themselves good traffic connections by establishing
locally operated bus services, thus optimizing the transfer between village and cities
along with the creation of new jobs and a self-sufficient infrastructure, e.g., by
turning empty farmhouses into exquisite shopping malls offering bio-food, by
attracting buyers and tourists from cities, and by encouraging doctors and attorneys
to establish their practices and law firms in pictorial villages (Vogel 2018). This kind
of initiatives has become rather popular in some places of Germany, because more
and more people are detecting the relaxing peace of country life over the hustle and
bustle of the city (Vogel 2018).
Eventually, Raskin’s trichotomy depicting three simultaneously existing differing
kinds of regions (Agoria, Ecodemia, and Arcadia) might offer a chance to tackle the
most urgent current problems in the field of SD (Raskin 2006) and to fulfill most or
even all of the UN SDGs. These three types of regions as “. . .an optimistic vision of
global society in the year 2084. . .” (Raskin 2006) – supposed to be more democratic
than all current political systems – would offer humans all over the globe the choice
between the more capitalist and consumer-oriented Agoria regions which would fit
digitalized Smart Cities, whereas the worker-oriented Ecodemia regions as “economic democracy” (Raskin 2006) with eco-socialist traits or the Arcadia regions as
the most ecologically and socially sustainable regions would rather find their place in
the countryside or in rural suburbs of Smart Cities. The Arcadia regions may be
suitable for those people who appreciate a calm and traditional life in the countryside
where digitalization would be restricted to a minimum, while people in these regions
may still be in a position to take part in cosmopolitan culture and world affairs by
progressive technologies and transportation services (Schwarz-Herion 2015b, with
reference to Raskin 2006), and the Ecodemia regions may attract those people who
appreciate the life in suburbs as more rural parts of large cities, whereas the people
seeking the innovativeness of vibrant, digitalized, and energy-efficient Smart Cities
may appreciate the Agoria regions.
In a free and democratic global society, people all over the globe should have a
choice between the Arcadia, the Ecodemia, and the Agoria regions. In that case,
Smart Cities may enrich the political and economic landscape of a future world
community. Nevertheless, it would be reasonable to restrict digitalization of Smart
Cities basically to regulating street traffic and parking systems in those areas with
particularly crowded streets while banning or strictly regulating driverless cars and
restricting the use of drones to emergency situations like fire extinguishing, weather
13 The Role of Smart Cities for the Realization of. . .
243
increase environmental damage and the social divide even further. Allowing a tiny
minority to exploit ground, water, and natural resources while excluding the majority
of people from any chance to live in harmony with nature harms both the ecological
and the social pillar of SD as well as most SDGs (see above).
There are certainly better options for the implementation of SD in general and the
UN SDGs in particular than pushing Smart Cities as alternative-less solution for
existing problems or driving people out of the country side into crowded cities.
Viable alternatives include initiatives by committed citizens to make rural areas
more attractive by becoming energy-independent by renewable energies like biogas
or biowaste while creating themselves good traffic connections by establishing
locally operated bus services, thus optimizing the transfer between village and cities
along with the creation of new jobs and a self-sufficient infrastructure, e.g., by
turning empty farmhouses into exquisite shopping malls offering bio-food, by
attracting buyers and tourists from cities, and by encouraging doctors and attorneys
to establish their practices and law firms in pictorial villages (Vogel 2018). This kind
of initiatives has become rather popular in some places of Germany, because more
and more people are detecting the relaxing peace of country life over the hustle and
bustle of the city (Vogel 2018).
Eventually, Raskin’s trichotomy depicting three simultaneously existing differing
kinds of regions (Agoria, Ecodemia, and Arcadia) might offer a chance to tackle the
most urgent current problems in the field of SD (Raskin 2006) and to fulfill most or
even all of the UN SDGs. These three types of regions as “. . .an optimistic vision of
global society in the year 2084. . .” (Raskin 2006) – supposed to be more democratic
than all current political systems – would offer humans all over the globe the choice
between the more capitalist and consumer-oriented Agoria regions which would fit
digitalized Smart Cities, whereas the worker-oriented Ecodemia regions as “economic democracy” (Raskin 2006) with eco-socialist traits or the Arcadia regions as
the most ecologically and socially sustainable regions would rather find their place in
the countryside or in rural suburbs of Smart Cities. The Arcadia regions may be
suitable for those people who appreciate a calm and traditional life in the countryside
where digitalization would be restricted to a minimum, while people in these regions
may still be in a position to take part in cosmopolitan culture and world affairs by
progressive technologies and transportation services (Schwarz-Herion 2015b, with
reference to Raskin 2006), and the Ecodemia regions may attract those people who
appreciate the life in suburbs as more rural parts of large cities, whereas the people
seeking the innovativeness of vibrant, digitalized, and energy-efficient Smart Cities
may appreciate the Agoria regions.
In a free and democratic global society, people all over the globe should have a
choice between the Arcadia, the Ecodemia, and the Agoria regions. In that case,
Smart Cities may enrich the political and economic landscape of a future world
community. Nevertheless, it would be reasonable to restrict digitalization of Smart
Cities basically to regulating street traffic and parking systems in those areas with
particularly crowded streets while banning or strictly regulating driverless cars and
restricting the use of drones to emergency situations like fire extinguishing, weather
13 The Role of Smart Cities for the Realization of. . .
243