Short abstract:

The paper discusses the transformation processes of ports and their infrastructures into "smart" ones, using Hamburg and Marseille as case studies. These geographies and technopolitics are examined from a governmentality perspective and contextualized within current modes and moments of crisis.

Long abstract:

While the origins of the transformation of ports into "smart" ones can be traced back to the first terminal automatization in Rotterdam in 1993, it is only in recent years that these developments have increased both qualitatively and quantitatively. Under the label of "smartness," processes of digital transformation to increase economic growth, efficiency, and sustainability are being put into practice.

In my doctoral research and this paper, I examine the ports of Hamburg and Marseille and their ongoing discourses and practices of becoming "smart" from a governmentality perspective – as they are framed as highly relevant for several reasons. Firstly, they respond to discursively framed "urgent" challenges such as adapting to (geo-)political changes, global competition, moments of crisis, and climate change. Regarding the latter, the port spaces are also considered as testbeds for broader urban solutions. Secondly, they involve changing logistical practices related to the global circulation of commodities and data. Thirdly, they contribute to the reorganization and repositioning of port spaces, e.g., as sites for the production or import of green hydrogen.

The paper aims to provide concrete empirical insights into the technopolitics and geographies of digital infrastructures. Using qualitative ethnographic and discourse analytical methods, I examine information and telecommunication infrastructures (conceptualized as socio-technical, logistical, and urban networks) and their current transformations in smart port projects.