Smart magic? Global discourse and local planning in three Nordic cities

While there is substantial literature exploring smart as place-based policy and smart as global discourse respectively, less is known about how the two aspects interact. This paper bridges that gap, using the magic concept as a framework to understand how global smart city discourse is enacted and (re)produced in local planning practice. Based on first-hand accounts from local actors in three Nordic cities, the study finds clear empirical support for smart as a magic concept. Further, it finds the magic concept to be a useful tool for understanding the discursive process, with magic evident as both a function and product of smart. From a functional perspective, the magic of smart was useful in positioning it as a relatable, desirable, and legitimate urban policy approach, facilitating the necessary financial and political support, while at the same time avoiding overprescriptiveness around what exactly a smart approach may entail. By enacting smart in this way, however, the actors inadvertently (re)produced the magic, painting an image of the smart city as modern, progressive, human-centred, and sustainable; the answer to any manner of urban challenges. Critical engagement with the limitations of smart magic, alongside its opportunities, is essential in ensuring that the smart approach results in tangible positive outcomes, rather than mere illusions. • We use the magic concept to explore the interplay between global smart city discourse and local planning practice • The magic qualities of smart are clearly evident in the three cities studied • Leveraging this 'smart magic' enables local approaches but also (re)produces the global discourse • Magic is thus understood as both function and a product of smart