Climate change and advances in urban technology propel forward the 'smart city'. As decision makers strive to find a technological fix, smart city strategies are often based on technological orthodoxies which are conceptually and empirically shallow. The motivation behind this paper is to address the conceptual adolescence which relates to the wholesale digitisation of the city by pursuing a twin argument about the democratic and environmental consequences. The authors draw on interdisciplinary theory and insights from urban studies, infrastructure, informatics, and the sociology of the Internet to critique the way the 'smart city' is taken forward. It is concluded that private firms market smart city services and solutions based on an ideological legacy of 'ubiquitous computing', 'universal infrastructure', and 'green technology'. Based on evidence from three UK cities-Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow-it is argued that the underlying principle of future city strategies is to expand the market for new technology products and services to support 'green growth' with disregard for their wider impacts.For citizens, becoming a consumer of the technologies is often presented as progressive 'participation' or 'empowerment' with unknown or hidden consequences both political and environmental. The city systems become a digital marketplace where citizen-consumers' participation is increasingly involuntary and the hegemony of global technology firms is inflated. What follows is that the city's 'intelligent systems' are defined through a digital consumer experience that has inherent biases and leaves parts of the city and its population unaccounted for. This renders the city less resilient in the face of future social and climatic risks.

This paper presents the design and implementation of a state-of-the-art ICT system to facilitate energy efficiency in two residential developments in Leeds and Sheffield (UK). Reflexive design practice understands end users as active agents in service design and the energy-efficiency agenda-underpinned by a new energy paradigm based on better information. The paper also demonstrates how ICTs can facilitate communitybased energy governance, and what wider benefits a neighborhood approach can bring to both the social embedding of energy efficiency and future innovation. It also demonstrates how energy-efficiency technologies and data offer added value to inhabitants making purchase and rental decisions.

This chapter will discuss the implications of the network society paradigm for e-government and the role of ICTs in the regeneration of urban neighbourhoods. The authors argue that the overriding catalyst for local e-government developments appears to have been the adoption of ICTs for competitive advantage and increased efficiency. The authors make the case for a more engaging approach using the example of online interactive mapping with a specific focus on how citizens can participate in the delivery and management of everyday services in their neighbourhood. Particular emphasis will be placed on how PPGIS can be used to facilitate the regeneration of inner city neighbourhoods through more integrated approaches to spatial data management. The chapter will demonstrate how improvements in local communities could be delivered through the integration of GIS with a range of public services.

No abstract