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The use of combat troops to construct roads, buildings, and other projects of social and economic importance has had a long history in human affairs, beginning in Biblical times.

City life has been reconfigured by our use-and our expectations-of communication, data, and sensing technologies. This book examines the civic use, regulation, and politics of these technologies, looking at how governments, planners, citizens, and activists expect them to enhance life in the city. Alison Powell argues that the de facto forms of citizenship that emerge in relation to these technologies represent sites of contention over how governance and civic power should operate. These become more significant in an increasingly urbanized and polarized world facing new struggles over local participation and engagement. The author moves past the usual discussion of top-down versus bottom-up civic action and instead explains how citizenship shifts in response to technological change and particularly in response to issues related to pervasive sensing, big data, and surveillance in "smart cities."

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Technology, Citizenship, and Frameworks of the Smart City -- One. Network Access and the Smart City of Connectivity -- Two. Data Cities and Visions of Optimization -- Three. Entrepreneurial Data Citizenships, Open Data Movements, and Audit Culture -- Four. Rethinking Civic Voice in Post-Neoliberal Cities -- Five. The Ends of Optimization -- Conclusion. The Right to Minimum Viable Datafication -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

In 2016, 90% of young Americans reported an interest in politics. 80% intended to vote. Yet only 43% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 ended up actually casting a ballot. Making Young Voters investigates what lies at the core of this gap. The authors' in-depth, interdisciplinary approach reveals that political apathy is not the reason for low levels of youth turnout. Rather, young people too often fail to follow through on their political interests and intentions. Those with 'noncognitive' skills related to self-regulation are more likely to overcome internal and external barriers to participation. This book combines theory from psychology, economics, child development, and more to explore possible solutions rooted in civic education and electoral reform. This potentially paradigm-shifting contribution to the literature of American politics serves to influence not only our understanding of voter turnout, but also the fundamental connections between the education system, electoral institutions, and individual civic behavior in a democracy. How young people vote affects not only each individual future, but that of the United States, and of us all.