Spatial Computing and the Phygital City: Towards Digital Habitation

Andrew Hudson-Smith
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Andrew Hudson-Smith: The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), University College London, UK

Urban Planning, 2026, vol. 11

Abstract: Spatial computing is reshaping the relationship between cities and digital technology, yet planning and governance frameworks have not kept pace with the transition now underway. This article proposes a three-stage model of urban digital transition: from the Smart City, in which sensor networks and real-time analytics form the digital nervous system of urban life; through the Phygital City, in which physical and digital layers are experienced simultaneously and inseparably within the lived urban environment; and towards “digital habitation,” a condition in which physical geography ceases to be the primary frame of reference, and work, socialising, commerce, and leisure occur in immersive digital environments. Existing frameworks, including code/space (Dodge & Kitchin, 2005), hybrid space (de Souza e Silva, 2006), and platform capitalism (Srnicek, 2017), have captured aspects of this transformation, but we argue that the intermediate Phygital City phase represents a qualitatively distinct planning condition that these frameworks have not adequately named or addressed. Naming it matters: Planners cannot effectively govern a condition for which they lack adequate conceptual vocabulary, and the governance instruments of the smart city are insufficient for the experiential, spatial, and ethical complexities of phygital urbanism. Drawing on emerging empirical cases, including urban digital twins and spatial computing platforms, the article develops the Phygital City concept across three registers—interface design, domestic space, and urban form—and situates the framework within established urban theory. We treat the three-stage transition as a planning horizon requiring anticipatory governance rather than a technological inevitability, and identify the Phygital City as the most tractable site for immediate policy and design intervention.

Keywords: digital habitation; digital twins; metacities; phygital city; spatial computing; urban informatics; virtual environments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:urbpla:v11:y:2026:a:12412

DOI: 10.17645/up.12412

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