The smart city and its publics: insights from across six UK cities. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cowley, Robert; Joss, Simon; Dayot, Youri
• Is Part Of: Urban research & practice. Volume 11:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 53
• Page End: 77
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: smart cities -- future cities -- UK -- assemblage theory -- public -- publicness; Sociology, Urban -- Periodicals; 307.7605
• DOI: 10.1080/17535069.2017.1293150
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1753-5069

Abstract

Abstract : In response to policy-makers' increasing claims to prioritise 'people' in smart city development, we explore the publicness of emerging practices across six UK cities: Bristol, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, and Peterborough. Local smart city programmes are analysed as techno-public assemblages invoking variegated modalities of publicness. Our findings challenge the dystopian speculative critiques of the smart city, while nevertheless indicating the dominance of 'entrepreneurial' and 'service user' modes of the public. We highlight the risk of bifurcation within smart city assemblages, such that the 'civic' and 'political' roles of the public become siloed into less obdurate strands of programmatic activity.