Inclusioni ed esclusioni sociali. Utopie e distopie della smart city

The contribution proposes an analysis of the smart city paradigm and focuses on the real possibilities of active/passive participation and inclusion/exclusion of citizens in the so-called "smart city". This topic can be interpreted through different points of view, sometimes convergent and sometimes dichotomous and inclusive of different interpretations, conjunctures and perspectives on the multiform urban dimension. The smart city paradigm involves new dimensions related to changes in different aspects of urban living and sustainable lifestyles. There is also the need to reflect on the transmutation of the concept of citizenship for those who inhabit the "smart city". The presence of antinomies between the various positions is evident: on the one hand, a limited number of new political subjects seem to have an influential voice; on the other hand, many citizens - the majority - can't even imagine having the possibility to understand and control new technologies, and thus the spread of dystopian visions. Moreover, the gap between those who "own" and those who "do not own" technologies is likely to produce new forms of exclusion in the process of "creation" of new forms of citizenship. The idea that seems to be missing in this image of the smart city is that of empowerment and active/effective participation of citizens.