online access Tokyo Platform capitalisms and platform cultures This article argues for a pluralization of the “platform capitalism” framework, suggesting we should think instead in terms of “platform capitalisms.” This pluralization opens the way to a better account of how platforms work in different geocultural contexts, with our focus being on China, India and Japan. … Read morePlatform capitalisms and platform cultures
online access Granular Configurations: Attending to the Material Politics of Planetary Design This paper examines how planetary design is materially enacted through the granular politics of sand. Moving beyond abstract accounts of planetary entanglement, it traces how sand’s trajectories—across extraction zones, supply chains, and reclaimed coastlines—compose volatile and uneven urban futures. Drawing on research in … Read moreGranular Configurations: Attending to the Material Politics of Planetary Design
online access Turning Brownfields into Brightfields The reuse of abandoned late-industrial sites for renewable energy projects has emerged as a promising strategy for decarbonization and environmental justice in a time of climate emergency. Although challenged by the roll-back of renewable energy policies in the United States, governments and companies frame the use of “unproductive” lands … Read moreTurning Brownfields into Brightfields
online access The geo-politics of resilience: On the historical convergence between ecology, artificial intelligence, and corporate strategy Today, few terms are more central to policy, planning, or economics than the term “resilience.” From urban planning to twining the earth systems, we have come to understand systems as constantly in a state of crisis that needs … Read moreThe geo-politics of resilience: On the historical convergence between ecology, artificial intelligence, and corporate strategy
online access The Planetary Experiment: A History and Theory of Science at Scale The article introduces and discusses the concept of planetary experimentation, its history, and its implications for understanding the relationship between humans and the environment, highlighting the need for a better understanding of knowledge production in the face of global warming and other … Read moreThe Planetary Experiment: A History and Theory of Science at Scale
online access Nairobi Silicon Elsewhere. Nairobi, Global China, and the Promise of Techno-Capital Heralded as Africa’s “Silicon Savannah”—a cradle of innovation—Nairobi has become a technology and innovation capital for Kenya and for the continent at large. With a national strategy that has prioritized digital technology for the last two decades, many Chinese digital champions, smaller … Read moreSilicon Elsewhere
online access Nairobi Of Bloatware and Spreadsheets: Nairobi, Chinese Phones, and the Limits of Data Coloniality This article charts the recent history of affordable Chinese phones in Nairobi, a city heralded by many as one of Africa’s digital capitals. Here, cheap handsets manufactured in China are the material commodities that facilitate an increasingly competitive datafication … Read moreOf Bloatware and Spreadsheets: Nairobi, Chinese Phones, and the Limits of Data Coloniality
online access Nairobi Spectrums of infrastructural hybridity: insights from urban Africa for a propositional research agenda In the last decade, research on Southern cities has fruitfully contributed to infrastructure debates and theorisations. A critical thread challenges the ‘networked infrastructure ideal’ and celebrates the diverse ways people secure access to services in the absence of uniform … Read moreSpectrums of infrastructural hybridity: insights from urban Africa fora propositional research agenda
online access Nairobi Durabilities in the age of disruption This essay engages with the theme of infrastructural disruption from the perspective of a French deep-sea cable-repair ship (flying under a flag of convenience) docked in Cape Town’s harbor. This vessel sails both the Atlantic and Indian coasts of Africa to fix malfunctions and ruptures in … Read moreDurabilities in the age of disruption
online access Nairobi Coastal encounters with electrical hybridity: Karpowership in Africa’s energy transition Karpowership’s large floating vessels provide electricity to millions of people in Africa’s coastal urban centers. Both the technology choice and the business practices of the family-run company are controversial. Not only do the ships use highly polluting heavy fuels, but there are … Read moreCoastal encounters with electrical hybridity: Karpowership in Africa’s energy transition