Urban Design, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning Engineering, Tarbiat Dabir Shahid Rajaei University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (105 Views)
Recent advances in urban technologies have shifted the concept of the smart city from a primary focus on digital infrastructure, data, and system efficiency toward human-centered concerns, urban experience, and the integration of physical and digital environments. Nevertheless, increased computational capacity, connectivity, and simulation capabilities do not necessarily signify the paradigmatic maturity of urban smartness. Using an analytical-critical approach, this article examines the evolution of the smart city paradigm toward the metaverse city, with particular emphasis on human–place and human–human relationships. The critique is organized around two main dimensions: first, the gap between technological maturity and human–spatial maturity in smart cities; and second, the evaluation of the metaverse city as a conditional possibility for the evolution of this paradigm. The analysis of the literature and critical arguments indicates that enhanced urban capacities for data collection, prediction, and management do not necessarily strengthen place attachment, quality of presence, social interaction, or meaningful citizen participation. Likewise, three-dimensionality, immersion, and expanded digital interactions alone are insufficient to consider the metaverse city a more evolved stage of urban smartness. Accordingly, this article proposes the concept of “relational smartness” as a conceptual framework in which the maturity of urban smartness is assessed through the quality of three interrelated dimensions: human–place, human–human, and physical–digital relationships. The article concludes that the metaverse city should not be regarded as a replacement for the smart city, but rather as a conditional possibility for its evolution, provided that technology shifts from being an end in itself to becoming a mediator for enhancing urban experience, social relationships, and urban life.
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