How numbers of the future are shaping today: The role of forecasts and calculations in public sector strategic thinking
以瑞典哥德堡市为例，研究数字如何影响城市战略制定过程，揭示其使城市可治理并引发当前问题解决的悖论。
Abstract This article examines the role of numbers in forming a city strategy in the case of Gothenburg, Sweden. The article illustrates how numbers make people act and react and shape the strategy process. The study is situated between the theoretical fields of accounting and strategy processes in cities. By relating them to the concept of ‘governmentality’, numbers are seen as helping render the city governable. Because strategizing is seen as concerning the future, the actors involved in drafting the strategy feel free to challenge historically institutionalized practices. The effect is paradoxical: the future‐looking strategy process becomes a forum for solving current problems.