Introduction - Territoire(s) et Numérique

Today?s ?digital revolution? is making information available in real time and spatial and social interactions much less dependent on physical distance. But is it really creating a revolution in our ways of living, of producing, of building, and of governing territories, or is it fundamentally only leading to a reinforcement of trends which are already well-established, such as the development of remote working, of e-services, of e-commerce (and of the local logistics which is one of the consequences), the multiplication of places dedicated to the emergence of innovation, etc., reinforcement that would go together with a slight renewal of the classical concerns of regional sciences: job-destroying creations, rationalisation of means, inequalities in economic development and in the ability to innovate, etc.? For regional sciences, is the digital revolution really a revolution, so far still at the gestation stage, just for current and future societal and territorial impacts linked to the development of artificial intelligence, and unequally affecting populations and territories? Will AI strengthen or on the contrary lead to upheavals in structures, interactions, and spatial and social practices? Such are the questions examined in this text, which gives a historical perspective to the notion of Digital Territories and the theme Territory(ies) and Digital, title of the 2021 ASRDLF colloquium that was held in Avignon.