book

Theoretical Perspectives of Technology and the City

5 Pages 1210 Words August 2015

The first concept I believe to be of the most importance was presented in module 1 and deals with understanding the theoretical perspectives of technology and the city. There are four main perspectives discussed in the module which are technological determinism, utopianism, dystopianism, and social construction of technology view point. The reason learning about the different perspectives of a city are critical for this course are that it will help one understand how they view technology and its impact on the city. The first perspective, technological determinism deals with the relationship between telematics technologies which are the integrated use of telecommunications and technology and the community. This theory is straight forward, as the changes in the city are seen as a direct result of the changes in telematics. We can see this relationship in a city like Toronto, where changes in the physical form of the city can be determined by what kind of technologies were available at a given time. Ultimately Toronto turned into a major socioeconomic powerhouse and it is no surprise the amount of building and development that has taken place in the city in the past 20-50 years in relation to the new technological adaptations; however it’s not mention if those changes are positive or negative. The second perspective is utopianism which is very similar to the first one. Utopianism views the changes and innovations in telematics to be largely positive, making the world a better place to live and work. Taking Toronto as an example, even though the past technological advances may not have been all positive utopianism suggests that the next innovation will take care of those problems. Therefore the city is in a constant cycle of innovation. The next perspective that was discussed is dystopianism. Compared to utopianism this theory presents how telematics innovation is seen an integrated part of society. Ultimately technological innovation...

Page 1 of 5 Next >

Related Essays:

Loading...