Governing Smart Cities: Why Do Academics Need to Study Trendy Concepts?

Citation

Meijer A & Webster W (2019) Governing Smart Cities: Why Do Academics Need to Study Trendy Concepts?. Information Polity, 24 (3), pp. 227-228. https://doi.org/10.3233/ip-190007

Abstract
First paragraph: In this issue of Information Polity we are delighted to present a set of thought-provoking papers on governing smart cities. These papers present a range of theoretical and empirical analyses of new emerging relations between new digital technologies and urban governance. A critical observer might question the choice of subject matter – why is it of interest to read a set of papers focused on a trendy concept like smart cities? Why don’t we focus on meaningful theoretical concepts such as socio-technological dynamics, informatization, the information polity or information intermediaries? Why don’t we just stick to strong theoretical narratives from disciplines such as political science, information science or organizational science?

Keywords
Sociology and Political Science; Communication; Public Administration; Information Systems

Journal
Information Polity: Volume 24, Issue 3

People

Professor William Webster

Personal Chair, Management, Work and Organisation