| Title |
The 'Smart City' between urban narrative and empty signifier: Hong Kong in focus |
| ID_Doc |
36025 |
| Authors |
Cole, A; Stivas, D; Tran, E; Lai, CL |
| Title |
The 'Smart City' between urban narrative and empty signifier: Hong Kong in focus |
| Year |
2023 |
| Published |
Cogent Social Sciences, 9, 1 |
| DOI |
10.1080/23311886.2023.2231624 |
| Abstract |
The article consists in an in-depth interpretative study of Smart City in the case of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China. It proposes a framework of analysis as a heuristic tool to interpret narratives in general and those of Smart City Hong Kong in particular. The capacity of a narrative to confer meaning draws upon three criteria: its originality (degree of endogeneity); its sincerity (internal validity and trustworthiness), and its extension (its ability to provide a convincing account to the outside world for social phenomena). They are also affected by the form of diffusion and communication. Four types of account emerged from our empirical investigation: survey responses; written responses from official agencies; face to face interviews; and collective interviews in focus groups. By reconstituting chains of meaning in relation to the Smart City, the article interrogates the utility of technology, sustainability and e-governance narratives for public administration. Taken as a whole, Smart City appears as a rather hollow narrative, an empty signifier, a general term lacking clear meaning. |
| Author Keywords |
smart city; urban narratives; Hong Kong; sustainability; smart technology; city-governance; public administration |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) |
| EID |
WOS:001019684700001 |
| WoS Category |
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary |
| Research Area |
Social Sciences - Other Topics |
| PDF |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23311886.2023.2231624?needAccess=true&role=button
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