Ride-Hailing Away from Democracy: Building Uber's Political Playbook in Washington, DC

Lauren Ames Fischer — 2026-05-12T05:00:00Z

In the past decade, platforms such as Uber and Lyft have changed how people navigate urban space. Disputing DC illuminates Uber's efforts to influence how we navigate democratic space by reforming the contours of city power to serve the needs of smart cities and the gig economy.
What are the limits of city power, in the age of smart cities and sharing economies? What are the emerging processes of regulation? How are municipal powers being reconfigured, and by whom? Disrupting DC: The Rise of

- Reviews / platformization, democracy, Washington, DC, United States, smart city, transport, Uber, public transportation

The Making of City Digital Twins: The Case of Dassault Systèmes

Oskar Steiner — 2026-02-03T06:00:00Z

With their origins in manufacturing and heavy industry, “digital twins” are increasingly being applied to urban planning and governance. As Oskar Steiner demonstrates, while the private firms that develop these tools often market them as a way to “let the city speak,” in practice they mostly serve as a vehicle to amplify and legitimize those companies' own voices.
As cities rush to brand themselves as “smart,” city digital twins have emerged as the latest techno-utopian promise: a live,

- From the Field / technology, smart city, digital city, digital economy, platformization

Metropolitics

Ride-Hailing Away from Democracy: Building Uber's Political Playbook in Washington, DC

The Making of City Digital Twins: The Case of Dassault Systèmes