COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND LOCAL KNOWLEDGES: THE CASE OF “PERIPHERALIZED” HIGH-RISE HOUSING ESTATES

Abstract

Relationships between communication technologies and urban social structures have been analyzed from numerous perspectives. From the standpoint of the “dual city,” where “the cosmopolitanism of the elite, living on a daily connection to the whole world” contrasts with “the tribalism of local communities, retrenched in their spaces,” certain places become pivotal to global processes while others are disconnected from the information revolution. Focusing on “peripheral” high-rise estates, this paper examines why, within a framework of neoliberal policies and insufficient investment, communication technologies are vital to the reproduction processes of “places of despair” (and thus the informational city generally) and how the handling of information (local knowledge) is influenced by situated relationships. The case study analyses several aspects of the technology: its role in making schemes financially viable, the consensus surrounding electronic surveillance and parallel subversions of authority, and the centrality of tenants to technological successes and failures.