Project description
Algorithmic urban governance and the politics of digital planning
As digital systems increasingly shape city planning, urban governance risks being driven by opaque algorithms that embed specific imaginaries of innovation, efficiency and objectivity. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the DATACULTURE project aims to examine the role of digital planning technologies in urban governance within Denmark. It explores how algorithmic systems affect urban decision-making through the introduction of bias, depoliticise spatial conflicts and transform democratic deliberation into technical optimisation, while also exposing the symbolic power and cultural narratives that shape datafied governance. In addition, techniques such as interface analysis, ethnographic studies, workshops and policy analysis will also be used in the project to analyse the post-political impact and foster more accountable digital governance.
Objective
The DataCulture (DC) project investigates the cultural politics of digital planning technologies in Denmark's urban governance, addressing how these tools operate beyond neutral technical functions to embed specific imaginaries of innovation, efficiency, and objectivity. Through an interdisciplinary methodology combining interface analysis, infrastructure ethnography, participatory workshops, and policy analysis, the project reveals how algorithmic planning systems embed social biases, depoliticise spatial conflicts, and transform democratic deliberation into technical optimisation. The research advances three core objectives: theoretically, it exposes symbolic power and cultural narratives legitimising algorithmic governance; methodologically, it develops bias-auditing protocols and research-creation approaches to analyse infrastructure materiality; and for policy impact, it demonstrates how these systems contribute to post-political urbanism while providing frameworks for more accountable digital governance. Building on established work in critical data studies and urban theory, the project extends analysis to encompass generative AI and automated decision-making impacts on spatial planning. The project's distinctive contribution lies in the systematic examination of symbolic power, cultural narratives and algorithmic governance of digital planning platforms through both the data they produce and the imaginaries they mobilise. The project's public installations and participatory methods ensure broader civic engagement, making this research valuable for designers, planners, and citizens navigating the datafied city as well as for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of technology, culture, and urban planning.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.