7. Digital Distinctiveness

A city is experienced through the senses. Traffic, buildings and the streets create an amalgam of sight and sound, touch and smell. As our bodies move through cities, our senses deliver information about threat and interest, alongside patterns of behaviour. Although our analogue bodies move through streets, shops and sporting organizations, digitization attends this movement through mobile phones, tablets and applications. This digitized strategy is not only detailing branding and marketing for a small city. Digitization also improves the life of those resident in a city. Progressive city administrators have discovered the positive benefits of providing free-of-charge wi-fi facilities in the hub of the city. Norwich was an early adapter of this strategy. Mandurah in Western Australia also rendered this a priority. Digitization matters to small cities. Many are located in rural and regional areas. In some nations, including South Africa, Canada and Australia, there is an incredible disparity in online connectivity, particularly with regard to broadband in regional and remote areas. This is a particularly problematic inequality. Social media have great uses for the men and women in small cities and towns. As facilities and public services leave, the online environment can manage some of these needs.