Smart cities, virtual futures? – Interests of urban actors in mediating digital technology and urban space in Tallinn, Estonia

Abstract

Urban spaces are reconfigured as digital technologies are increasingly embedded into cities. While existing research has considered the role of urban actors in implementing digital technologies as part of the smart urbanism framework, it has insufficiently considered the role that urban space plays for individual stakeholders and the implications this has for how they contribute to digital cities. This article therefore explores the converging interests of urban actors in mediating digital technology adoption in urban space. It draws on literature on the spatial impact of digital technologies, digital urban growth, and urban governance theory to frame the agency of urban actors to mobilise resources and collaboration to protect their interests. The paper provides insight into how interests in digital technology adoption and in the use of urban space intersect in a middle-sized European city – Tallinn, Estonia – and how these interests converge between local key stakeholders in local governance. Based on a thematic analysis of interviews, it is argued that the potential of digital technologies to dislocate functionalities from physical urban space should be understood against the backdrop of local actors’ interests. It is therefore suggested that smart urbanism should be understood as a framework through which actors of the city attempt to seize the benefits of digital technologies without compromising their interests in urban space.