Genealogy and Circulation of the Smart Cities Concept in Chile:

An Urban Policy Failure?

Abstract

Although studies describe the circulation of the Smart Cities (SC) concept in Chile, research on how this concept emerges in the Chilean context remains scarce. Drawing on the policy mobility approach and Foucault’s genealogical method, this article explores the multiple origins of the term. Using mixed methods (Twitter social network analysis, event ethnography, content analysis, and interviews with key informants), the results identify the national innovation and productivity agenda as the main predecessor, Spain as the primary international reference, and some reappropriations of the concept, such as the “National Plan for Intelligent Territories”. These findings complement and add new insights to analyses of the concept’s circulation, revealing not only the power relations behind the deployment and establishment of the Smart Cities concept in Chile but also that the term originates from the economic and innovation spheres rather than the urban sphere. Whereas in the Global North, the Smart Cities concept emerges as a narrative that permeates urban policies and is even referred to as 'new urban policy' or 'Smart City Policy', in Chile, it does not signify a new form of urbanism or a novel 'model' of urban development. Instead, it serves as an urban narrative for fostering technological industries in the city.