The city as constituted by numbers – accounting practices shaping the future city

Paper in proceeding, 2012

This article aims to unfold the role numbers have in cities based on an empirical case of a strategy process in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. The study shows that numbers made people act and made the strategy process take different turns. Theoretically is the article aiming at contributing to the field of accounting practices in cities and in strategy processes by showing how numbers help shaping the strategy process and it’s outcomes. By leaning on the concept of ‘governmentality’ I am here seeing numbers as a means to make the city governable. However, since strategizing is part of constituting the future city, the actors involved is more free to challenge historically, institutionalized practices, which makes the strategy process a forum for solving on-­‐going problems.