Metropolitan areas and the digital transition: toward a hybrid model?
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Abstract
Digital transition profoundly disrupts contemporary metropolitan dynamics, generating contrasted urban development trajectories between Global North and South metropolises. This research comparatively analyzes urban digitization experiences to examine the emergence of a hybrid model that transcends traditional geographical dichotomies. Northern metropolises develop sophisticated technological ecosystems integrating Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and massive urban data exploitation. Barcelona, Stockholm, and Singapore illustrate this techno-centric approach that optimizes urban service efficiency but raises concerns regarding pervasive surveillance and persistent digital divides. Simultaneously, Southern metropolises experiment with frugal innovations prioritizing contextual adaptation to infrastructural and budgetary constraints. Lagos, Nairobi, and Cairo develop alternative solutions such as mobile banking and informal platforms that renew conventional smart city approaches. The analysis reveals the progressive emergence of a hybrid model that creatively articulates technological sophistication and frugal innovation. This hybridization operates through selective technological transfers, cross-learning processes, and local appropriation of global innovations. The hybrid model opens promising perspectives for the emergence of "inclusive smart metropolises" that reconcile technical performance and social justice, while raising challenges related to urban data governance and prevention of new forms of digital inequalities.
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