On May 28th, at 6pm in the Golden Hall Diana West (Princeton University) will give a talk Dreaming of "Big Data" in the Soviet Union: Territorial-Production Complexes and the Cybernetic Future of Planning.
The emphasis on “big data” as a tool for improving urban conditions and creating the so-called “smart cities” has been a critical feature of 21st century urbanism. Despite its ultra-contemporary ring, however, the idea is hardly novel: in fact, it bears a striking similarity to cybernetics, one of its most significant 20th century predecessors. My talk will address an earlier incarnation of the “big data” fantasy in the work of late-Soviet regional planners interested in cybernetic methods. In particular, it will focus on the Soviet integrated industrial and geographic systems called Territorial-Production Complexes (TPC), paying particular attention to the work of researchers at the Novosibirsk Institute of Economics and Organization of Industrial Production. In following the researchers’ attempts to develop dynamic models for TPC planning, I will explore both the futuristic lure and the sense of futility in their visions of a computerized future. I will also consider how these themes relate to our contemporary optimism about the “big data” future of cities, as the collection of vast quantities of information becomes a goal in and of itself and a purported solution to problems of managing complex urban systems.