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Smart Barcelona: the gap between inspiring rhetoric and lackluster implementation in transformative approaches

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  • Tooran Alizadeh
  • Eshita Dutia
  • Rebecca Clements

Abstract

Barcelona is championed as the exemplary radical smart city, and yet scholarly understandings are typically limited to its theoretical approach and policy rhetoric. This paper, however, interrogates the extent to which Smart Barcelona has been implemented. It deploys a novel method of thematically analyzing 51 public talks by Barcelona’s first Chief Technology Officer, cross-examined with policy documents – to unpack the smart agenda. This agenda is then contrasted with insights into the ‘actual smart city’ implementation via interviews with 10 key informants. Findings reveal a lackluster progress including limited citizen input, ongoing reliance on ‘Big Tech’, and missing integration capacity.

Suggested Citation

  • Tooran Alizadeh & Eshita Dutia & Rebecca Clements, 2024. "Smart Barcelona: the gap between inspiring rhetoric and lackluster implementation in transformative approaches," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 839-854, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cpprxx:v:39:y:2024:i:5:p:839-854
    DOI: 10.1080/02697459.2024.2369977
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