AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BRAZIL: WHO IS ENTITLED TO SMART CITIES?

ABSTRACT

The article set out to discuss the digital divide and its implications for the right to the city, considering the perspective of smart cities. Since the main innovative aspect related to smart cities is the mediation of urban management and urban life through the use of ICTs. The debate was conducted taking as examples both remote learning initiatives and access to the federal government's emergency in the context of the COVID-19 pandemics - two ICTs mediated services that illustrate how the digital divide affects the availability of these services in a digital way. Such choice was made because exclusion is not a recent phenomenon, but it has become more evident due to the need for social isolation. The analysis of the chosen examples was made by examining bibliographic material and news media. The main conclusion is that in scenarios such as Brazil's, with strong and historical inequality, the use of ICTs for mediation of rights, including the right to the city, may end up reproducing processes of social exclusion, now re-signified in digital exclusion in the context of smart cities. In this sense, it is understood that for digital solutions and services implemented in cities to actually contribute to improving the living conditions of their residents, digital inclusion must be seen as a right, guaranteeing access and knowledge about such technologies and access infrastructure.