The 'Actually Existing Smart City'
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 8(1): 13-25
13 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2014 Last revised: 2 Mar 2015
Date Written: 2015
Abstract
This paper grounds the critique of the ‘smart city’ in its historical and geographical context. Adapting Brenner and Theodore’s notion of ‘actually existing neoliberalism’, we suggest a greater attention be paid to the ‘actually existing smart city’, rather than the exceptional or paradigmatic smart cities of Songdo, Masdar and Living PlanIT Valley. Through a closer analysis of cases in Louisville and Philadelphia, we demonstrate the utility of understanding the material effects of these policies in actual cities around the world, with a particular focus on how and from where these policies have arisen, and how they have unevenly impacted the places that have adopted them.
Keywords: data, economic development, governance, smart cities, urban studies
JEL Classification: R28, O21, 025, 038
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
