Fields, D., Bissell, D. and Macrorie, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-4148-7463 (2020) Platform methods : studying platform urbanism outside the black box. Urban Geography, 41 (3). pp. 462-468. ISSN 0272-3638
Abstract
This intervention reflects on critical perspectives on algorithms and geographical work on the urban-digital interface to highlight a set of approaches for studying the politics of platform urbanism. In several ways, platforms may be understood as black boxes due to the proprietary nature of algorithms, the secrecy of corporate ownership structures, and the emphasis on confidentiality and privacy in the venture capital industry. While thus raising concerns about scrutiny and accountability, inclinations to “open the black box” of platforms reflect a limited and limiting horizon of political possibility. In a different vein, geographers concerned with the digital-urban interface are working to think about the potential for a counter-politics that is not rooted exclusively in resistance or antagonism. Drawing on these insights, this intervention complements recent work on digital methods by emphasizing tracing, counter-mapping, and proxying as approaches that do not privilege the revelation of visibility so much as potentiality, slipperiness, and movement.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Urban Geography. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Platform urbanism; counter-mapping; narrative methods; proxying |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Independent Social Research Foundation N/A |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2020 10:29 |
Last Modified: | 10 Dec 2021 14:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/02723638.2020.1730642 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:157343 |