The variegated hinterlands of the digital growth machine

Abstract

Digital capitalism reorganizes and differentiates land outside of urban cores into a variegated, novel set of hinterlands: spaces primed to support the specific needs of digital technology sector-related activities and associated urban growth. As cities operate as capital accumulation vehicles under digital capitalism, the sector reinforces and transforms extractive hinterland dynamics that have long supported cities, while expanding hinterland functions beyond sites of natural resource extraction and production. We identify five distinct hinterland types, related to different stages of the sector's global production networks: (1) materials hinterlands contain key minerals necessary for digital products; (2) manufacturing hinterlands support manufacturing and industrial production to develop digital technology products; (3) fulfillment hinterlands furnish product storage and transportation services for just-in-time delivery through global supply chains; (4) computational hinterlands involve data storage and energy infrastructure to sustain intensive global computational activity; and (5) signaling hinterlands enable users and firms to develop cultural, social, and economic capital to create and extract value on digital social media platforms. These variegated hinterlands lend new insight into the economic geography of digital capitalism, as the digital technology sector leverages far-reaching landscapes to support its unique industrial needs, reshaping urbanization patterns and driving uneven development.

Keywords

Digital capitalism digital growth machine digital technologies global production networks hinterlands uneven development urbanization

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