Smart as a Global Vision? Exploring Smart in Local District Development Projects

E. de Hoop, L.M. van Oers, Sören Becker, Rachel Macrorie, Philipp Spaeth, Mandi Astola, W.P.C. Boon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This article studies local enactments of “smart” in and
through visions of six smart district development projects. We show
that smart cities’ framings of the future are inevitably diverse, emerging
from local assemblages consisting of a wide array of heterogeneous
elements that translate global imaginaries of the smart city to meet
local specificities, needs and agendas. We demonstrate that visions
may describe the process of district planning and design, the materiality of the envisioned district and the governance of the district; and
that smart visions may play three distinct roles – they may act as
mobilizers, instrumentally (i.e. as tools to achieve specific sociotechnical goals) and to exclude alternatives. Knowledge forms a key constituent of smart visions, and acts to include some while excluding others.
We therefore suggest that further research should focus on the
political and controversial construction and use of knowledge in
visioning processes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalArchitecture and Culture
Volume7
Issue number2
Early online date2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Knowledge politics
  • smart
  • visions
  • local enactment
  • performativity
  • urban planning

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