With this article, I introduce the ‘algorithmic fix’ as a framework to analyze contemporary placemaking practices. I discuss how algorithmic practices of placemaking govern and control mobilities. I theorize such practices as the ‘algorithmic fix’, where location determination technologies, data practices, and machine learning algorithms are used together to ‘get a fix on’ our whereabouts with the aim of sorting and classifying both people and places. Through a case study of location intelligence, I demonstrate how these digital placemaking practices do not only control and prevent physical mobilities – they are designed to fix who we are and whom we may become with the aim of creating a predictable future. I focus on geo-profiling, geo-fencing, and predictive policing as three key aspects of location intelligence to present a discussion of how ‘algorithmic fix’ as a framework can provide valuable insights to analyzing contemporary placemaking practices.
CITATION STYLE
Özkul, D. (2021). The algorithmic fix: Location intelligence, placemaking, and predictable futures. Convergence, 27(3), 594–608. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565211005644
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