Marie Veltz: The City of Platforms in the Digital Age. The Political Implications of the Emergence of a New Practical Paradigm.

For the past fifteen years or so, cities have been grappling with the rise of digital technology. This issue has been placed on the agenda not only by public sector bodies, which feel more or less compelled to embrace the modernity of the ‘smart city’, but also by a wide range of actors outside the traditional urban sphere, who see economic opportunities in it. This thesis is based on a study conducted in the cities of Nice, Rennes and Montpellier. It examines the effects of digital technology on the dynamics of collective action and on the links between policy and politics.

A detailed analysis of how local authorities have taken ownership of the process shows that the emphasis on communication often outweighs concrete achievements; nevertheless, the digital shift is nonetheless causing significant disruption, not only by upending established practices but also, and above all, by raising new questions about the very foundations of their work. The study then shows that behind the highly standardised rhetoric, different trajectories and priorities are emerging across the three regions, whilst the contours of a distinctly French trajectory for metropolitan areas in their relationship with digital technology are also becoming apparent.

Finally, the thesis highlights the rise of the platform in the digital age, whether in the practices, discourses or imaginations of those involved. It reveals that this development simultaneously heralds a break with the model of the networked city that has dominated our imaginations for the past 150 years, and the thesis explores the political consequences of this shift.

Members of the jury

• Nicolas Douay, University Professor, Université Grenoble Alpes (rapporteur)
• Patrick Le Galès, Research Director at the CNRS, Professor at Sciences Po Paris (rapporteur)
• Cécile Maisonneuve, Chair of La Fabrique de la Cité
• Antoine Picon, Research Director, École Nationale des Ponts ParisTech (PhD supervisor)
• François-Mathieu Poupeau, Research Director at the CNRS, Professor at École des Ponts ParisTech
• Antoinette Rouvroy, Senior Research Fellow at the National Fund for Scientific Research, Faculty of Law, University of Namur, Belgium