Google urbanism 2010–2020: From infrastructural control to growing bit by bit

Burcu Baykurt

Urban Studies, 2025, vol. 62, issue 13, 2617-2632

Abstract: This article examines Google’s political-economic influence in the emerging ‘digital growth machine’ through two urban-tech initiatives, Fiber and Sidewalk Labs. The findings highlight the company’s dual role as both a platform and an infrastructure, its capacity for collaboration with local governments and its iterative, experimental use of urban environments. It argues that Google’s urban-tech power in cities is neither fixed nor easily defined; the company purposefully remains ambiguous in order to continually test and invest in new ventures, fuelled by the speculative ethos of Silicon Valley and the demands of venture capital. Using Google as a case study, the article calls for a broader theorisation of tech power in cities, focusing not just on economic heft but also on the ways that tech companies enlist other actors in speculative projects, and adapt, pivot and repurpose their products in response to local demands.

Keywords: infrastructure; local government; platform urbanism; Sidewalk Labs; smart cities; 基础设施; 地方政府; å¹³å °åŸŽå¸‚åŒ–; Sidewalk Labs; 智慧城市 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00420980251328927 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:62:y:2025:i:13:p:2617-2632

DOI: 10.1177/00420980251328927

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Urban Studies from Urban Studies Journal Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().