Dream States

Name: Dream States
Brand: Unknown
SKU: 9781552454282
Price: 49.0 NZD
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Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias

By John Lorinc

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3.46

( 80 ratings, 13 reviews)

Summary

Dream States explores the ambitious world of smart city technology and its implications for urban life. John Lorinc examines how innovations like smart streetlights, autonomous vehicles, and environmental sensors are reshaping cities worldwide, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Situating these technologies within a historical context, the book reveals how the pursuit of utopian urban ideals has evolved alongside advances in infrastructure and governance.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$49⁰⁰

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Dream States

$49⁰⁰

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for urban planners, policy makers, students of urban studies, and readers interested in the intersection of technology and city development. It is suitable for those seeking a critical yet accessible examination of how technological advances shape urban futures.

Description

WINNER OF THE 2022 WRITERS' TRUST BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 DONNER BOOK PRIZE

WINNER OF THE PATTIS FAMILY FOUNDATION GLOBAL CITIES BOOK AWARD

Is the 'smart city' the utopia we've been waiting for?

The promise of the so-called smart city has been at the forefront of urban planning and development since the early 2010s, and the tech industry that supplies smart city software and hardware is now worth hundreds of billions a year.

But the ideas and approaches underpinning smart city tech raise tough and important questions about the future of urban communities, surveillance, automation, and public participation. The smart city era, moreover, belongs firmly in a longer historical narrative about cities—one defined by utopian ideologies, architectural visions, and technological fantasies.

Smart streetlights, water and air quality tracking, autonomous vehicles: with examples from all over the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Portland, and Chicago, Dream States unpacks the world of smart city tech, but also situates this important shift in city-building into a broader story about why we still dream about perfect places.

Dream States reminds us that the search for urban utopia is not new. Throughout the book, John Lorinc underscores the fact that a gamut of urban innovations—from smart city megaprojects to e-government to pandemic preparedness tools—only provide promise when scrutinised together with the political, economic, social, and physical complexities of urban life." – Shauna Brail, University of Toronto

Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias – Enid Slack, University of Toronto School of Cities

"Utopia may be the oldest grift in the city-building business, but Dream States shows that technology is a timeless tool for turning the most ordinary of urban dreams—clean air and water, safe streets, and decent homes—into reality. As digital dilettantes try to sell us on a software overhaul, John Lorinc provides us an indispensable and flawless guide to the must-haves and never-agains of the smart city." – Anthony Townsend, Urbanist in Residence, Cornell Tech, author of Smart Cities

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its thorough analysis, Dream States balances the hype and genuine potential of smart city technologies. Reviewers from Bloomberg Cities Network and Urban Studies commend Lorinc's ability to provide a comprehensive update on smart city tech with insightful case studies. The book is also lauded for grounding digital innovations within a broader history of urban infrastructure, helping planners and readers alike understand the complexities of making cities 'smart'.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781552454282

Publisher: Coach House Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 October 2022

Country: Canada

Imprint: Coach House Books

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 139.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 176

Collections

Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture John Lorinc Non-Fiction Science & Nature

About the Author

John Lorinc is a journalist and editor. He reports on urban affairs, politics, business, technology, and local history for a range of media, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Corporate Knights and Spacing, where he is senior editor. John is the author of five books, including No Jews Live Here: A Memoir (Coach House Books, 2024), and has co-edited eight anthologies for Coach House, including The Ward (2015), Any Other Way (2017), and Messy Cities (2025). John is the recipient of the 2019/2020 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy and was the winner of the Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy, for Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias (2022). He lives in Toronto.