Urban Policy Mobilities: The Case of Turin as a Smart City

Abstract

This article analyses urban policy mobilities taking into consideration the idea of the smart city, which is currently a sort of leitmotif used in many cities within the framework of discourses on urban development. More specifically, this article offers an analysis concerning the circulation and implementation of the idea of the smart city in Turin, Italy. It investigates the actors, processes and networks involved in the mobilization and reproduction of the idea, as well as the mechanisms, concerning the embedding of the smart city discourse in the institutional fabric of the city of Turin, Italy. It also emphasizes how urban policy mobility can develop even without processes of “imitation” and “adaptation” of best practices from other cities.

Notes

1. With regard to the EU, documents on the Setis (http://seti-s.ec.europa.eu) and Energy directorate (http://ec.europa.eu/energy) websites were analysed. Regarding policies at governmental level, the normative references Programma Operativo Nazionale ‘Ricerca e Competitività’ (National Operational Programme on Research and Competitiveness) 2007–2013 drawn up by the MIUR (Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, Ministry for Education, Universities and Research) and Directorial Decree 5 July 2012 no. 391/Ric. Bando Smart Cities and Communities and Social Innovation were consulted, while with regard to the urban scale, documents from the official websites of the municipal council were examined.

2. Respectively: Homeland Security, Ageing Society, Welfare and Inclusion Technologies, Automation, Justice, Education, Waste Management, Ocean Technologies, Health, Land Transport and Mobility, Last-Mile Logistics, Smart Grids, Sustainable Architecture and Materials, Cultural Heritage, Water Management, Cloud Computing Technologies for Smart Government.