Program and govern. Technological-political disputes in the era of smart cities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/arbor.2022.803-804004Keywords:
Smart city, government technologies, subjectivation, digital technologies, FoucaultAbstract
The purpose of this article is to analyse the recent emergence of political-corporate discourse on the notion of the smart city. We describe the link between digital technologies that make up its basic infrastructure and the power relations that underlie its modes of application and management in urban space. To do this, we adopt the analytical approach of governmentality studies (Foucault), as this critical perspective on government rationalities over people’s behaviour considers both control devices and the processes of subjectivation and resistance that run through the new «smart-neoliberal» forms of government in urban life. Analysis of government strategies in smart cities will also show that government commitments in cities consist mainly of the programming of urban dynamics. In this way, we will finally point to a necessary reflection on the technological-political disputes that arise in the heart of so-called «smart cities», thus putting a strain on their premises as well as on the population management practices associated with digital technologies.
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Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico
Grant numbers 11201122
