Immigrants in the Smart City: The Potential of City Digital Strategies to Facilitate Immigrant Integration
Migration Information Source has an interesting story about creative ways of integrating immigrants into the greater community.
The digital age offers local governments unprecedented possibilities to engage with residents in novel ways. Cities across the globe are using digital tools, such as web portals and applications (apps), to improve access to public services, enhance responsiveness, better understand the needs of the populations they serve, and provide platforms for deeper civic engagement.
Going digital has the potential to fundamentally transform the relationship between citizen and government, but what of those on the periphery of social, economic, and political life? Research has shown that disadvantaged groups, including immigrants and minorities, are high users of smartphones and social media, and could theoretically be reached through these tools. Newly arrived immigrants are some of the most vulnerable in society and are often in need of support settling in and connecting to information about local services and jobs. However, these groups are often thought to be digitally, as well as socially excluded, and the move by governments to online platforms could exacerbate existing barriers to accessing public services. Furthermore, these groups may lack the necessary digital skills and host-country language ability to take full advantage of digital government services.
This article examines digital developments in New York City, London, and Barcelona—“smart” cities at the forefront of the digital-governance revolution that are also home to large immigrant populations. Based on interviews with city officials, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academics, business practitioners, and experts on immigration and digital inclusion, the article analyzes city efforts to capitalize on the new opportunities offered by digital technology to reach immigrant communities, and explores the efforts of municipal governments to ensure that no one is left out of these technological shifts.
KJ