Dr Jathan Sadowski
Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Smart Cities
G04 - Wilkinson Building
The University of Sydney
Telephone | +61 2 9114 2199 |
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Biographical details
Jathan Sadowski is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Smart Cities. His research brings together technology studies, urban geography, political economy, and social theory. He applies this interdisciplinary approach to the study of “smart systems” (data-driven, networked, automated). Broadly, Jathan is interested in how issues such as power asymmetries, uneven development, and competing values influence the design and use of digital tech. He believes that by analysing the institutions, interests, ideologies, and material conditions that influence how/what socio-technical systems are built we can then better engage with their impacts and guide their creation. To that end, his work is typically concerned with transformative technologies that are being used to shape society—at different scales, to different degrees, and by different actors—now and in the near future.
Jathan’s new project seeks to shift the focus of smart urbanism research from the conceptual to the material and from the speculative to the actual. Through an urban ethnography of smart initiatives in Sydney, the project studies how these policies and technologies are designed and implemented, and how are they are used and challenged by community organizations. Thus, the goal is not only to flesh out a better understanding of the actually existing smart city, but also consider how the values of communities and users can inform the design of alternative smart cities. This project is grounded in the theory of cyborg urbanization. By emphasizing how material, political, social, and spatial assemblages are made, how they interface with people, and how they impact urban society, this theory provides a useful tool for investigating and interpreting the (smart) city.
Jathan also frequently writes analysis and opinion articles about the politics of technology for media outlets such as The Guardian, The Nation, and Slate.
Selected publications
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