The Rebranding of Newcastle as a Smart City. Cui Bono?

Abstract

The city of Newcastle, regional capital of North East England and home to “the UK’s smartest street” located a short distance from its brand new Helix district, is described as having successfully transitioned from a traditionally industrial city to a “smart” city, able to use digital tools to address issues such as congestion, pollution, waste reduction and parking, with the dual objective of “helping people to live better lives” and of making the city more attractive to businesses, investors, international students, and tourists. While ubiquitous in political and academic discourse, the idea of “smart city” is strikingly absent from general public discussion, with very low awareness among those whose lives are supposed to be most improved. Criticisms of smart cities tend to focus on the fact that the services associated with smart cities constitute a very lucrative market, on the lack of residents’ involvement in changes that will directly affect their everyday life, and on the potential for misuse of the data collected. Drawing primarily from a range of published material such as policy documents, newsletters, working papers, announcements, websites, and brochures produced by the key players of the smart city, as well as from conversations with ordinary residents, this article aims to contribute to the discussion on smart cities by confronting official discourses with “actually existing” practices, through the case of the mid-sized city of Newcastle. It explores the uses of smart city tools and discourse to rebrand the city of Newcastle and revitalise civic pride, setting the smart city promises against actual improvements to the lives of local residents as well as their perceptions of their city. The first section of the article sets out the elements of the smart city to show how the characteristics of the city of Newcastle made it an ideal terrain for experimentations; the second section analyses the deployment of the smart city agenda in the city, focusing on the discourses and perceptions of the range of players involved. The third and final section seeks to understand who is set to benefit the most from Newcastle’s transition to a “smart city”. The conclusion presents a nuanced assessment of the potentialities and limits of the smart city.