When Alphabet Inc. plans Toronto's waterfront: New post-political modes of urban governance

in Urban Planning (2020), 5(1), 69-83

‘Smart cities’ has become a hegemonic concept in urban discourses, despite substantial criticism presented by scholarly research and activism. The aim of this research was to understand what happens when ... [more ▼]

‘Smart cities’ has become a hegemonic concept in urban discourses, despite substantial criticism presented by scholarly research and activism. The aim of this research was to understand what happens when one of the big digital corporations enters the field of real estate and land use development and urban planning, how existing institutions respond to this, and how modes of urban governance are affected. Alphabet Inc.’s plans for Toronto’s waterfront provided insights into these questions. Our investigations traced a complex web of place-making practices that involved all levels of government, the general public, and networks of actors throughout the private sector. Methodologically, the discourse was reconstructed with local fieldwork, interviews with key actors, participating in tours and public meetings, and secondary sources. It was found that Alphabet Inc.’s plan to build a world-class digital city contained some lessons for urban studies and urban planning practice. First, Alphabet Inc.’s plans, which unfolded amidst initiatives to expand the knowledge economy, confirmed concerns that the trajectory of neoliberal, market-driven land use and speculation along the waterfront remains unchanged. Second, digital infrastructures are potentially a Trojan Horse. Third, it was seen that municipalities and their modes of urban planning are vulnerable to the political economic manoeuvrings of large corporate power. Fourth, Alphabet Inc. operates as a post-political package driven by a new coalition of politics, where the smart city is sold as a neutral technology. The controversies surrounding the project, however, stirred a civic discourse that might signal a return of the political. [less ▲]

Just because they say it is sustainable development, it does not mean that it is: Sustainable development as a master-signifier in Swiss urban and regional planning

E-print/Working paper (2020)

With stunning green landscapes, exemplary public transport, and picturesque walkable cities, Switzerland often occupies the public imaginary of a place that has tackled sustainable development. This ... [more ▼]

With stunning green landscapes, exemplary public transport, and picturesque walkable cities, Switzerland often occupies the public imaginary of a place that has tackled sustainable development. This research, however, looks under the hood and finds that this development path supports not only modes of capital accumulation, but also certain less sustainable patterns of development and governance. This paper examines this apparent paradox by looking at the role of sustainable development as a master-signifier in Swiss urban development processes. Empirical observations were made in the Glatt Valley of Switzerland, where governing officials of small municipalities are confronted with coordinating urban development under growth pressure within cantonal and federal policy frameworks that claim sustainable development. It can be seen that sustainable development is an empty master-signifier that policy makers engage to justify the quilting of a certain hegemonic discourses of power that reflect in further uneven urban development. By reproducing business as usual market-led urban growth, fragmentation is maintained as are social spatial disparities are entrenched. [less ▲]

"Keine Schwarzseher" Forscher der Universität Luxemburg unterstützen Jugendliche von "Fridays for Future"

Article for general public (2019)

Digital Urbanism and the Challenge of Urban Governance (DIG_URBGOV) – Short Research Summary

Report (2019)

Smart Cities, ‚big politics‘ und die Privatisierung der urbanen Governance

Article for general public (2019)

Die Diskussion über Smart Cities hat in den letzten Jahren einen regelrechten Hype in Stadtpolitik, -forschung und -wirtschaft hervorgebracht. Die digitale Optimierung von Gebäuden, Quartieren oder ganzen ... [more ▼]

Die Diskussion über Smart Cities hat in den letzten Jahren einen regelrechten Hype in Stadtpolitik, -forschung und -wirtschaft hervorgebracht. Die digitale Optimierung von Gebäuden, Quartieren oder ganzen Stadträumen, so könnte man Smart Cities definieren, hat auch Luxemburg erfasst. Während das Wirtschaftsministerium die Vision einer intelligenten digitalen Spezialisierung verfolgt, präsentiert sich die Hauptstadt seit geraumer Zeit als Bühne der Smart City. Als Kontrast zu diesen Bildern analysieren wir ein prominentes Beispiel, das die Vision einer kontrollierten, technologisch und ökonomisch durchoptimierten Stadt vermittelt – Quayside, das Konversionsprojekt der Alphabet Inc. in Torontos Hafengebiet. [less ▲]

Smart cities and risk: When digital urban development gets political

Presentation (2019)

The apolitical aims of digital urban development: Following Alphabet Inc.'s waterfront development in Toronto.

Presentation (2019)

Smart Cities: Selbstzweck oder zum Wohl der Städte?

Article for general public (2019)

Die Idee der intelligenten Stadt – „Smart City“ – hat in den letzten Jahren unsere Fantasie beflügelt. Viele glauben, dass hier die Zukunft der Stadt liege. Die digitale Optimierung von Gebäuden ... [more ▼]

Die Idee der intelligenten Stadt – „Smart City“ – hat in den letzten Jahren unsere Fantasie beflügelt. Viele glauben, dass hier die Zukunft der Stadt liege. Die digitale Optimierung von Gebäuden, Kommunikations- und Verkehrsinfrastruktur begeistert Politiker, Wirtschaftsführer und die breite Öffentlichkeit. Alle wollen smart sein – ohne dass man jeweils wüsste, was genau eine Smart City ist. Von Constance Carr* Dies hat einen gewissen Wettlauf der Innovationen ausgelöst, wobei die Entwicklungsgeschwindigkeit ein solches Tempo erreicht hat, dass der Appetit der Technologieindustrie und der Städte, hier mitzuspielen, unersättlich erscheint. Die Digitalisierung ist insofern ein wichtiger Aspekt der Stadtentwicklungspolitik weltweit. Luxemburg bildet hier keine Ausnahme und strebt eine führende Position in der digitalen Entwicklung an. [less ▲]

Some notes on smart cities and the corporatization of urban governance

Presentation (2019)

Free Transit in Luxembourg: A case of post-political urban governance through policy mobility

in Witlox, Frank (Ed.) Moving Towards More Sustainable Mobility and Transport through Smart Systems - Proceedings of the BIVEC-GIBET Transport Research Days 2019 (2019)