How Digital Geographies Render Value: Geofences, the Blockchain, and the Possibilities of Slow Alternatives

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter proceeds in two parts. First, it situates the way that digital geographies render value by creating new markets for the creation, extraction, and capture of that value. Two digital geographies are highlighted: geofences/geoframing and cryptocurrencies on the blockchain. Drawing on the renewed interest in theorizing the digital urban growth machine, I analyze these new markets as forms of toxic innovation dominated by a focus on growth and extractive value. Second, I examine the possibilities for alternative responsible innovation that creates social value, which I call the Slow Data Economy. Inspired by the ethics of slowness, slow data centers accountability, the human-in-the-loop, local co-design, and vision making for the future city. By working with the possibilities of responsible innovation, I explore how the Slow Data Economy can be a form of “capital switching” in which investment is switched from a focus on growth and extraction to care and repair.