Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space

"Infrastructure is not only the underground pipes and wires that control our cities but also the hidden rules for structuring the spaces all around us--free trade zones, smart cities, suburbs and malls. Extrastatecraft charts the rise of the hidden rulesthat control this "infrastructure space," and shows how it is creating new forms of power, beyond the reach of government. In a series of fascinating case studies, Easterling visits fields of infrastructure with the greatest impact on our world-- tracking everything from standards for the thinness of credit cards, to the urbanism of mobile telephony as the world's largest shared platform, to the rules for the free zone as the most contagious new world city paradigm. In conclusion, she proposes some unexpected techniques for resisting power in a contemporary world"--
Extrastatecraft controls everyday life in the city: it’s the key to power – and resistance – in the twenty-first century.Infrastructure is not only the underground pipes and cables controlling our cities. It also determines the hidden rules that structure the spaces all around us – free trade zones, smart cities, suburbs, and shopping malls.Extrastatecraft charts the emergent new powers controlling this space and shows how they extend beyond the reach of government.Keller Easterling explores areas of infrastructure with the greatest impact on our world – examining everything from standards for the thinness of credit cards to the urbanism of mobile telephony, the world’s largest shared platform, to the “free zone,” the most virulent new world city paradigm. In conclusion, she proposes some unexpected techniques for resisting power in the modern world.Extrastatecraft will change the way we think about urban spaces – and how we live in them.