A topology of digitalising territories

Abstract

This paper develops a topological analysis of digitalising territories which examines the dynamic relationship between territory, land, and the digital technologies of measurement and control. We propose a conceptualisation of digitalising territories through a topological lens and across three key pathways: boundaries, relational presence, and invariants. Where boundaries and presence conceptualise territories not as bounded entities, but as dynamic, relational geography continually reshaped by digital technologies, topological invariants point us to the material anchors within transformation. As a result, this framework considers both the adaptability of the digital world and the grounded realities they encompass.