THE “DIGITAL CITY”: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE DISCURSIVE PRACTICES OF URBAN DIGITALITY IN THREE U.S. CITIES by Kristin Scott A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cultural Studies Committee: Director Program Director Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: Spring Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA The “Digital City”: A Critical Examination of the Discursive Practices of Urban Digitality in Three U.S. Cities A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by Kristin Scott Bachelor of Arts George Mason University, 1999 Master of Arts University of Chicago, 2004 Master of Fine Arts Columbia College Chicago, 2004 Director: Denise Albanese, Professor Department of Cultural Studies Spring Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noderivs 3.0 unported license. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Carol Pelletier, as she has consistently been an amazing source of love, inspiration, and support as I’ve worked to complete this project. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many colleagues, professors, friends, relatives, and supporters who have supported my doctoral studies and the writing of this dissertation. First and foremost, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my dissertation chair, Denise Albanese, who mentored me throughout my entire doctoral program and consistently challenged me always to be a better researcher, theorist, and writer. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee members, Paul Smith and Timothy Gibson, for their very helpful constructive criticism and feedback, as well as their support throughout the process. My scholarship, of course, has been greatly enriched by a number of conversations and courses that I have taken over the years with various faculty members at the George Mason University Cultural Studies program. And I am particularly thankful for the academic guidance of Roger Lancaster, Dina Copelman, Hugh Gusterson, and Alison Landsberg. My George Mason University cultural studies friends have also been great support systems, as I’ve navigated the ups and downs of a doctoral program. I am especially grateful to my “senior” cultural studies friends for their academic support and encouragement, Lia UyTioco, Robert Gehl, Fan Yang, Pia Møller, Katy Razzano, Nayantara Sheoran, Randa Kayyali, Leah Perry, Michael James Lecker, Wendy Burns- Ardolino, Ludy Grandas, and Sean Johnson Andrews. I am also grateful to J. Scott Killen and Adila Laïdi-Hanieh, both of whom came into the program with me and with whom I have often commiserated. Sara Marie Massee has also been a great and steady friend, an intellectually challenging colleague, and has provided mounds of support throughout the entirety of my doctoral studies. I also am deeply grateful to Basak Durgun, with whom I have laughed and cried throughout both my personal and professional journeys. She has been an amazing and supportive friend, a lively and supportive colleague, and an intellectually engaging peer. I am deeply grateful to my New Century College colleagues and friends, who provided me with numerous professional opportunities—helping me further develop my teaching and administrative skills. I have learned so much from Lisa Gring-Pemble, Lesley Smith, Kelly Dunne, John O’Connor, Al Fuertes, Sylvia Vitazkova, Julie Owen, and Beatriz Cuartas. All in all, I have never worked with a more amazing group of people as I have at NCC; they are all deeply passionate and intellectually engaging educators, and I cannot iv thank them enough for their friendship and mentoring. I also want to thank all my students throughout the years; I have learned as much from them as I hope they have learned from me. I also want to thank Jeannie Brown Leonard, who provided excellent mentorship and support when I taught for her in the Bachelor of Individualized Studies program. I also have many people outside of GMU to thank. Lori Viera was instrumental in my even getting here; her constant support and companionship was invaluable. I am so very grateful for Erin O’Donnell, for her long-time friendship and constant encouragement. She’s been a great supporter ever since my undergraduate days at Smith College. And although he’s no longer with us, I thank Luc Gilleman, my Smith College faculty mentor, who kept in touch with me throughout the years and encouraged me to pursue my Ph.D. My colleagues and friends at Columbia College Chicago who supported my academic endeavors along the way are numerous, but I would especially like to thank Jaafar Aksikas for his gracious support in helping me to get into and through the program; he is not only a great mentor, but also a wonderful colleague. Tanya Harasym’s friendship was invaluable as I made the transition from Columbia to GMU, and I thoroughly enjoyed our mid-day coffee/tea breaks and lively conversations. I send a special thanks, also, to the former director and chair of the fiction writing program, Randy Albers; his advice was invaluable, and I always enjoyed visiting him to talk about my next adventure. I also am deeply grateful for the care and friendship of Gillian Moore and Julie Volkmann; they were the source of much support and years of laughter. Sylvia Mannino has also been a wonderful friend and great supporter. Lastly, I want to also thank my family: Barbara Erickson, and my father, Don Drumm for always supporting my endeavors; Teresa McKee, who insisted I pursue a doctorate over a meal in Chicago over nine years ago; and my younger siblings, Delia and Byron, for whom I often strive to be an inspiration. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Relevance to Cultural Studies and Contribution to Related Fields ................................. 6 Data Sources .................................................................................................................... 9 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 13 Critical Social Theory ................................................................................................ 13 Critical Discourse Analysis ....................................................................................... 16 Chapter Summaries ....................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER ONE: EXISTING LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL CONTEXTS ..... 25 Digital Utopianism and the Neoliberal Project .......................................................... 27 Digitalized Security, Safety, and Surveillance .......................................................... 47 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER TWO: NEW YORK CITY—SOCIAL MEDIA(TED) GOVERNANCE ..... 60 Mediate(d) Democracy: Internet Access and .NYC Top-Level Domain ...................... 62 Urban Health and Sustainability: NYC’s Got an App for That .................................... 73 Digital Technological Affects of Security and Safety .................................................. 84 Open Data / Open Government? ................................................................................... 94 Digital Urban Planning and Renewal .......................................................................... 110 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 117 CHAPTER THREE: SAN ANTONIO—“CYBERCITY, U.S.A.” AND THE CYBER- SECURITY STATE........................................................................................................ 123 San Antonio as an Historically Contested Space ........................................................ 127 San Antonio’s “CyberCity” Initiatives ........................................................................ 129 The Militarization of Cyberspace ................................................................................ 138 The Hegemony of Digital Homogeneity ..................................................................... 146 vi Surveillance and Internalized Colonization ................................................................ 152 The Political Economy of Urban Securitization & Digitalized Human Capital ......... 160 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 169 CHAPTER FOUR: SMART CITY SEATTLE AND GEOGRAPHIES OF EXCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 173 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 173 Seattle’s Techno-Utopianism ...................................................................................... 176 Seattle as Smart City ..................................................................................................