Disrupted Urbanism: Situated Smart Initiatives in African Cities

by Nancy Odendaal

Overview

The ‘smart city’ is often promoted as a technology-driven solution to complex urban issues. While commentators are increasingly critical of techno-optimistic narratives, the political imagination is dominated by claims that technical solutions can be uniformly applied to intractable problems. This book provides a much-needed alternative view, exploring how ‘home-grown’ digital disruption, driven and initiated by local actors, upends the mainstream corporate narrative. Drawing on original research conducted in a range of urban African settings, Odendaal shows how these initiatives can lead to meaningful change. This is a valuable resource for scholars working in the intersection of science and technology studies, urban and economic geography and sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529218572
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.34(d)

About the Author

Nancy Odendaal is Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics at the University of Cape Town.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Fantasies, Hope and Compelling Narratives The Expansive Nature of Platforms Hacking Mobility Digital Food Dialogues Cyborg Activism Platform Practices and the Public Imagination Conclusion: On Understanding Situated Platform Urbanism

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A path-breaking exploration of the realities of digital innovation across urban Africa, this book goes way beyond the glossy clichés of the corporate smart city to explore how digital media offer huge and very real potential for progressive social change at the grassroots level." Stephen Graham, Newcastle University

“Nancy Odendaal’s long-awaited book will flip most readers’ perspectives on what a ‘smart city’ can be, when people and communities become a creative, proactive part of the disruption. A key text to understand what happens when technology meets real places.” Alessandro Aurigi, University of Plymouth