Localizing IT: Smart Kampung as Banyuwangi Regency’s Innovation from Below 2015-2020

Smart city has long been criticized for not accommodative to people in rural areas. This is because, smart city is seen too complex for rural people, who are usually known for their simplicity in life and social organization, as compared to people in urban areas. This paper will address internet technology as a tool of innovation. People in rural areas are also usually known for their unfamiliarity with the advancement of technology through the adoption of Internet-of-Thing in public service. In fact, thing can be different. Adopting the main content of smart city, Banyuwangi regency put emphasis the IT empowerment for community in kampung level which is spread out in the rural areas, instead of in city level. However, by putting emphasis on kampung level, Banyuwangi regency has enabled people in the lowest level of governance to access to information as well as to develop their potential to be widely acknowledged by wider audience including those connected through Internet. As a result, within less than a decade Banyuwangi has succeeded to be a magnet for tourism, trading and investment, which lift up the quality of life of the people as well as quality of the governance itself.