From industrial cities to cybercities: A look at the influence of municipal policy in Montreal

Abstract

This thesis examines the influence of municipal policy visioning initiatives on the transformation of industrial cities into cybercities. The emergence of the cybercity is mapped, and the role of municipal policy visioning initiatives in its development is examined. Two fields guide this research: communication and urban studies. The cybercity concept draws on both fields, and both are necessary to answer the research questions posed: How do municipal policy visioning initiatives influence a city's transformation into a cybercity? Montreal is used as a case study, and document analysis forms the core of the research strategy. Industry profile reports, government statistics and official organization websites provide supporting evidence. The policy visioning document examined supports the development of Montreal as a cybercity only where that development coincides with the city's development as a creative city. Improvements to future municipal policy depend on the inclusion of specific benchmarks that enable the effectiveness of policies to be measured.