Abstract

It was in the very spirit of engaging with the troubles and promises of automation at the urban level that we launched the call that gave origins to this volume. We had three aims: first, to address the spatialization of automation, investigating the modes, dynamics, and vectors through which automation processes manifest in urban terms, employing a geographic lens for analysis; second, to engage conceptually, exploring what “urban automation” means and its interpretive and epistemological potential as a theoretical framework; and, finally, to leverage these discussions to reflect on the nature of critique in contemporary contexts – to think about troubles and promises beyond the dichotomic approaches that dominate the field.