Ming Tsun Lai M.Sc.
Contact
lai@kritis.tu-...
work +49 6151 16-28575
Work
S4|22 304
Dolivostr. 15
64293
Darmstadt
Research Interests
- smart and sustainable urban development
- post-industrial city transition
- urban policy studies
- social inclusion
PhD Project
Evaluating smart city transition and social injustice: vulnerabilities of digital infrastructures (Working Title)
While smart city planning is on the near future schedule, the issue related to social and spatial inequalities is emerging from underwater. How would the development of digital infrastructures impact marginalized groups such as the elderly, minorities, and households with low incomes? The digital divide is a permanent social injustice in Hong Kong due to unequal access to technologies. In this PhD project, we aim to study the vulnerabilities of digital infrastructures especially those manifested as social injustice, and thus to develop countermeasures to enhance inclusiveness. Using Hong Kong as the central case study, the design and planning of communication (e.g. broadband coverage, connectivity) and mobility systems (e.g. modes of transport, payment methods) regarding smart city transition are the entry points of the research. In addition to the marginalized group, another group of citizens – the reverse marginalized group, who we define as the citizens with resistance to the usage of urban technologies and sequence transition, is also the focus.