Making the Digital City: The Early Shaping of Urban Internet Space (Design and the Built Environment)

Annotation Since the late 1990s, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been hailed as a potentially revolutionary feature of the planning and management of Western cities. Economic regeneration and place promotion strategies have exploited these new technologies; city management has experimented with electronically distributed services, and participation in public life and democratic decision-making processes can be made more flexible by the use of ICTs. All of these technological initiatives have often been presented and accessed via an urban front-end information site known as 'digital city' or 'city network.' Illustrated by a range of European case studies, this volume examines the social, political and management issues and potential problems in the establishment of an electronic layer of information and services in cities. The book provides a better understanding of the direction European cities are going towards in the implementation of ICTs in the urban arena Illustrated By A Range Of European Case Studies, This Volume Examines The Social, Political And Management Issues And Potential Problems In The Establishment Of An Electronic Layer Of Information And Services In Cities. The Book Provides A Better Understanding Of The Direction European Cities Are Going Towards In The Implementation Of Icts In The Urban Arena.--jacket. The Context: Public Space And Cyberspace. Introduction; Cyberspace And The City's Public Sphere; Exploring The Digital City -- The Early Steps Of The Digital City. The Web Cities Phenomenon In Europe; History Of A Civic Network: Iperbole In Bologna; When Bristol Went Digital -- Issues, Dilemmas, And The Future. Lessons To Be Learnt From Bologna And Bristol; Conclusions: What Next For The Digital City?. By Alessandro Aurigi. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [215]-219) And Index. Illustrated by a range of European case studies, this volume examines the social, political and management issues and potential problems in the establishment of an electronic layer of information and services in cities. The book provides an understanding of the direction European cities are moving towards in the implementation of ICTs in the urban arena. This book is a critical history of the emergence of 'civic' Internet information systems in Europe, their role as innovative regeneration 'tools', and above all how they have been socially constructed.