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The social innovation–(re)politicisation nexus: Unlocking the political in actually existing smart city campaigns? The case of SmartCity Cologne, Germany

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  • Stephen Leitheiser

    (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

  • Alexander Follmann

    (University of Cologne, Germany)

Abstract

As a prominent and performative discourse, The Smart City has the potential to shape urban futures. Yet, its mostly top-down implementation and dominantly technocratic definition of problems raises critiques of The Smart City as the latest version of a series of post-political and neoliberal visions of urban governance. However, as smart cities are implemented into ‘actually existing’ strategies locally, they are always negotiated and translated into place-specific contexts. Beyond critiquing the powerful discourse of The Smart City , the social innovation–(re)politicisation nexus (SIRN) spells out a framework for contesting and co-producing radically transformative smart city visions and politics as they take shape on the ground. Linking the empirical case study of the ‘top-down’ implementation of SmartCity Cologne, Germany, to current ‘bottom-up’ discourses on reclaiming the urban commons, we show how ‘true’ and ‘real’ social innovation must go hand-in-hand with a re-politicisation of hegemonic logics and discursive framings. In doing so, this paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to public and academic discourse on which governance practices, methods and policies could contribute to radical transformations towards a ‘truly’ smart and sustainable urban future.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Leitheiser & Alexander Follmann, 2020. "The social innovation–(re)politicisation nexus: Unlocking the political in actually existing smart city campaigns? The case of SmartCity Cologne, Germany," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(4), pages 894-915, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:4:p:894-915
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098019869820
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tan Yigitcanlar & Federico Cugurullo, 2020. "The Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: An Urbanistic Viewpoint from the Lens of Smart and Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    3. Yanmin Xu & Wengang Li & Jianjiang Tai & Chunjiong Zhang, 2022. "A Bibliometric-Based Analytical Framework for the Study of Smart City Lifeforms in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Pauline McGuirk & Robyn Dowling & Pratichi Chatterjee, 2021. "Municipal Statecraft For The Smart City: Retooling The Smart Entrepreneurial City?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(7), pages 1730-1748, October.
    5. Stephen Leitheiser & Elen-Maarja Trell & Ina Horlings & Alex Franklin, 2022. "Toward the commoning of governance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 40(3), pages 744-762, May.
    6. Marchesani, Filippo & Masciarelli, Francesca & Bikfalvi, Andrea, 2023. "Smart city as a hub for talent and innovative companies: Exploring the (dis) advantages of digital technology implementation in cities," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).

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