From South Korea to Malaysia, ‘smart cities’ turn to ghost towns
Anyone who had read Jane Jacob&#x27;s Death and Life of Great American Cities would predict what happens when you build isolated high rises, no matter how smart, with no actual connection to the urban life.<p>The article also speaks of these cities as not intended for the rural poor migrating to the city.  Edward Glaeser&#x27;s Triumph of the City examines (among other things) why the rural poor flock to cities: no matter how dismal the slum, it&#x27;s still better than the farm, and it&#x27;s at least possible for some entrepreneurs to get started.  Smart cities that exclude the poor and working class can&#x27;t thrive.<p>Glaeser shows that cities are engines of economic growth, but this requires clean water and sanitary living for <i>everyone</i>, and only state intervention can provide that.  Instead of building high tech playgrounds, cities should literally clean up their act.  Getting clean water is not glamourous, and probably not lucrative to individual actors, but in the end it pays off.