Telematics in the East End of London

A concept of the cultural form is used to analyse the development of community telematics services. The article is based on empirical research of the development of telematics in the East End of London. It is argued that the use and development of a technology expresses a social vision, creates a powerful symbol and engages us in a form of life. In the case of telematics this involves addressing a rethinking of citizenship along the lines of consumerism, and understanding how that interacts with the development of telematics in local contexts such as the East End. This grounds an understanding of the innovation of telematics in the material, social and cultural aspects of a cultural form, which in so doing helps to assess telematics' role and value in the contemporary public sphere.