From Commons to Commodities: Civic Data Infrastructures in the Smart City

Keywords: data capitalism, smart cities, civic data, gov-tech
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, U.S. municipal agencies have gradually shifted from open data initiatives to private data platforms. This paper explores that transition through interviews with gov-tech start-up founders and city officials and a content analysis of 150 contracts between these firms and municipal agencies. It asks: (1) how has municipal knowledge shifted from a public good to a commodity? and (2) what are the broader implications for the public interest as once-open datasets are increasingly repurposed for commercial interests and to train proprietary technologies? I argue that civic data infrastructures have become sites of negotiation where political agency and market forces converge. Instead of a binary struggle between public good and private interest, municipal agencies and local communities craft varied approaches to “data sovereignty,” thereby raising new questions about how local activism can meaningfully challenge the privatization of civic data infrastructures. Drawing on an interdisciplinary scholarship in science and technology studies and urban studies, the intellectual significance of this project lies in understanding the moral economies in which commercial platforms and artificial intelligence become embedded in the operations of urban governance. Ultimately, it seeks to envision alternative models of state-tech relations, highlighting the need for more equitable and transparent frameworks for using municipal data in the era of AI and data capitalism.