Abstract

IBM is pursuing a “Smart City” initiative, and the adjective “smart” is increasingly applied to development projects, both urban and social. Although whole town planning is clearly a desirable integrated goal, this paper makes the case that there is a different and underrepresented domain that may have significant advantages: the festival. Based on an inclusive definition of the term “smart” we look at the potential research advantages offered by a festival environment and give concrete examples of festival practices, highlighting the potential offered by a festivalʼs natural focus on inclusive aspects of “smartness” broader than just “technology”.