#14 Inequality in the (Post-) Pandemic City
Smart cities with their digital technological innovations and application of information technologies are argued to be more sustainable, resilient, efficient and better able to respond to changing circumstances or challenges. But what does this narrative of technological development and smart cities actually entail, how have smart cities dealt with COVID-crisis and what can we learn from all this? Listen in on GRIP’s interview with Dr Jaideep Gupte to learn more on smart cities, the pandemic and technology inequalities.
The miniseries “Inequality in the (Post-) Pandemic City” probes how different dimensions of inequality are shaped, exacerbated, materialized, or co-exist in globally diverse urban contexts. In this series, we provide insights from researchers, scholars and specialists and ask how the effects of the pandemic, including the virus itself or the intervention measures associated with it, are impacting people and communities, particularly in relation to economic, political, social, cultural, environmental and knowledge-based inequalities.
Dr Jaideep Gupte is Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, and leads “the Cities and Sustainable Infrastructure” Portfolio of the Global Challenges Research Fund. Jaideep’s research has received the Global Development Network Medal for Outstanding Research, and he was formerly Prize Fellow of the Urban Design Research Institute, Mumbai. He has conducted primary research in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal) and sub-Saharan Africa (Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria). Jaideep uses multidisciplinary approaches to understand the material, temporal, political and technological aspects of urban informality.
His research seeks to foreground the voices and everyday experiences of the most marginalised urban residents. He has served as a consultant for a variety of donor agencies, UN Agencies, several urban local authorities and a range of NGOs. He is currently the Principal Investigator on ‘Smart Data for Inclusive Cities’ programme funded by the European Commission; a Co-Investigator of the Global Challenges Research Fund ARISE Accountability in Urban Health Research Hub; and the Principle Investigator of the ‘Governing the ungovernable’ programme funded by the Gerda Henkle Stiftung.