Digital Transitions

Course goals

• Appraise and compare different theoretical and empirical approaches to analysing the digital transition.
• Evaluate the impact of the digital transition and its implications for policy debate
• Synthesize different concepts in a case study of the digital transition

 

Content

The digital transition is an influential megatrend that is quickly and comprehensively transforming the economy and society worldwide. To navigate its opportunities, the European Union and many other countries have put digital transitions high on the policy agenda. At the individual level, new technologies and business models such as digital platforms and AI increasingly affect our daily lives. Where previously 'cyberspace' was often spoken of as a new field to be investigated by geographers and planners, digital transition is now so ubiquitous and has become a key research topic in the discipline as a whole. In particular, geographers and planners increasingly focus on the challenges, or the ‘dark side’, of the digital transitions such as rising spatial inequality and injustice, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the digital transitions.

The course’s objective is to present and discuss the digital transition and its consequences from a spatial perspective. First, this course will introduce different theoretical and empirical approaches in understanding the spatiality of digital transition. Second, this course will introduce cases of the applications of digital technologies in different geographical and sectoral contexts. Third, this course will take a critical view to understand the impacts of the digital transition and the challenges in urban and regional governance in the digital era.