We are living at the dawn of what has been termed ¿the fourth paradigm of science ¿ a
scientific revolution that is marked by both the emergence of big data science and analytics
and by the increasing adoption of the underlying technologies in scientific and scholarly
research practices. Everything about science development or knowledge production is
fundamentally changing thanks to the ever-increasing deluge of data. This is the primary fuel
of the new age which powerful computational processes or analytics algorithms are using to
generate valuable knowledge for enhanced decision-making and deep insights pertaining to a
wide variety of practical uses and applications. This book addresses the complex interplay of
the scientific technological and social dimensions of the city and what it entails in terms
of the systemic implications for smart sustainable urbanism. In concrete terms it explores the
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field of smart sustainable urbanism and the
unprecedented paradigmatic shifts and practical advances it is undergoing in light of big data
science and analytics. This new era of science and technology embodies an unprecedentedly
transformative and constitutive power¿manifested not only in the form of revolutionizing
science and transforming knowledge but also in advancing social practices producing new
discourses catalyzing major shifts and fostering societal transitions. Of particular
relevance it is instigating a massive change in the way both smart cities and sustainable
cities are studied and understood and in how they are planned designed operated managed
and governed in the face of urbanization. This relates to what has been dubbed data-driven
smart sustainable urbanism an emerging approach based on a computational understanding of city
systems and processes that reduces urban life to logical and algorithmic rules and procedures
while also harnessing urban big data to provide a more holistic and integrated view or synoptic
intelligence of the city. This is increasingly being directed towards improving advancing and
maintaining the contribution of both sustainable cities and smart cities to the goals of
sustainable development. This timely and multifaceted book is aimed at a broad readership. As
such it will appeal to urban scientists data scientists urbanists planners engineers
designers policymakers philosophers of science and futurists as well as all readers
interested in an overview of the pivotal role of big data science and analytics in advancing
every academic discipline and social practice concerned with datäintensive science and its
application particularly in relation to sustainability.
