Abstract

This paper showcases the logic, methodology, and findings features in Dmitrenko’s Major Research Project submitted to the University of Toronto for partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. Dmitrenko’s research focused on exploring city development as an agent of political development in Kazakhstan. Exploring Almaty and Astana as her two case studies, Dmitrenko argues that the concurrent growth of both cities tells a story of Kazakhstan’s complicated relationship between the government and its citizens. In navigating these bottom-up or top-down relationships between the government and its citizens, Kazakhstan’s urban space seems to be organizing itself according to the principle of digitalization – the idea that digitalization can improve institutional trust and the quality of life. In doing so, Kazakhstan may be carving out a path for a new kind of political development.

Key words: urbanity, pandemic, city, daily life, digetalization