Tales from a Technocratic City

How does a technocratic city listen? How does it feel? And what’s the relevance of a pile of horse shit in a city full of sensors? These were some of the questions posed during the year-long research project investigating the smart city of Eindhoven, a city symptomatic to the way in which data and technology are used to make cities civil in 'the West'. Through the lens of design, writing, researching, archeology and artistic practice, the city was dissected by an editorial board overseeing a group of participants from various backgrounds. This publication has collected some of those works as well as commissioning additional essays and research. The topics covered, while local, tie into the wider global debate surrounding big data and citizenship. From branding to surveillance, this publication analyses the rhetorics behind the people and companies shaping our technocratic cities.

How does a technocratic city listen? How does it feel? And what’s the relevance of a pile of horse shit in a city full of sensors? These were some of the questions posed during the year-long research project investigating the smart city of Eindhoven, a city symptomatic to the way in which data and technology are used to make cities civil in ''the West''. Through the lens of design, writing, researching, archeology and artistic practice, the city was dissected by an editorial board overseeing a group of participants from various backgrounds. This publication has collected some of those works as well as commissioning additional essays and research. The topics covered, while local, tie into the wider global debate surrounding big data and citizenship. From branding to surveillance, this publication analyses the rhetorics behind the people and companies shaping our technocratic cities.