ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to explore discourses and practices of architecture and the smart city by engaging with a broad understanding of smart technologies. It traces the history of the use of metaphors to understand the city as a complex entity without clearly defined boundaries in order to better position current perceptions of the smart city. The book provides a reflection on how the architectural typology of the office has been transformed through the deployment of smart objects, Information and Communication Technology, and the ubiquity of the network. It focuses on agency and control by deconstructing the master narrative of the smart city and assessing the particularities of its arrival. The book discusses how big data and artificial intelligence could change the understanding and planning of urban places in a way that could be beneficial for citizens.
