The Refiguration of Urban Infrastructure Management in the Face of Global Crises

My contribution is based on sociological-ethnographic research conducted from 2018 to 2021 as part of Collaborative Research Centre 1265 on the Refiguration of Spaces in Berlin. The focus was on Smart City strategies in South Korea, Brazil, Ireland, and Germany, which are driving forward the integration of infrastructural control centers to address global crises and make the future more predictable. As it turns out, despite their similarities, these approaches differ significantly in crucial cultural aspects. My contribution aims to demonstrate how the city administrations of these countries are advancing their smartification efforts, particularly the associated integration of infrastructural control centers. At the same time, I will explore the socio-technical imaginaries underlying these approaches, as well as the practical pitfalls where these visions falter. It becomes evident in most of the cases that have been investigated, that a new format of communicative collaboration is emerging, one that also offers a fresh perspective for an 'engaged' sociology. I intend to conclude with such a proposal for an engaged sociology that is able to hold the balance between responsibility and critial distance. My research is rooted in the tradition of interpretive social research and social constructivism. Best greetings from Fulda/Berlin