Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book illustrates how urban innovation is being negotiated and interpreted in a wide range of contexts, while also raising more fundamental questions about the rapidly evolving relationship between society and information and communication technologies (ICT). It describes how smart urbanisation in Newcastle, Australia involves the slow and incremental roll-out of technologies to supplement existing local government agendas. The book utilizes the metaphor of Frankenstein to characterise the hybrid landscape created by the laissez-faire property development system in Hong Kong. It provides insights on how smart is being implemented in the 'ordinary' Chinese city of Wuhan, and argues that ICT innovation has shed its novelty and emerged as a commonplace activity of urban development. The book also provides a detailed analysis of the contested collaborations within the Munich municipal government and with its corporate partner, Siemens.