My research in this field has stemmed from an interest in the geography of innovation, combined with work with the Union des Municipalités du Québec as member of the jury which judges submissions to the Mérite-Ovation annual prizes. Being an urban planner has also helped in focussing my thoughts about innovation and technology upon municipalities and local governments.
Here are links to some of my work on the topic:
Shearmur, R., 2022, Boroughs, Small Municipalities and Sustainability: What is Municipal Innovation and Can it Make a Difference? in Kong, H. and T.Monforte (eds) Innovations in Urban Sustainability: Citizens and Participatory Governance, University of Toronto Press (in press)
Shearmur, R., 2020, Innovation and Canadian Cities: Exploring Different Viewpoints, in Moos, M., T.Vinodrai and R.Walker (eds) Canadian Cities in Transition, Oxford University Press
Beaudet, G. et R.Shearmur, 2019, L’Innovation Municipale, Presses de l’Université de Montréal
Shearmur, R., 2019, L’innovation Municipale : l’entrepreneuriat dans l’administration publique locale, in Brady, J-P (ed) Introduction à la vie politique municipal Québécoise, Québec: Presses de l’Université Laval
Shearmur, R. and D.Wachsmuth, 2019, Urban Technology : the Rise of the ‘Innovation Machine’, Plan Canada, 59.1, 175-179
Shearmur, R., M.Charron and F.Pajevic, 2019, Why is it only cities that are labelled smart? A vocabulary of urban bias / Pourquoi seulement les villes sont-elles qualifiées d’intelligentes? Un vocabulaire du biais urbain, Canadian Geographer, DOI:10.1111/cag.12573
Shearmur, R. and V.Poirier, 2017, Conceptualizing Nonmarket Municipal Entrepreneurship: Everyday Municipal Innovation and the Roles of Metropolitan Context, Internal Resources, and Learning, Urban Affairs Review, DOI: 10.1177/1078087416636482
Shearmur, R., 2016, Debating urban technology: technophiles, luddites and citizens, (editorial) Urban Geography, 37:6, 807-809
Richard Shearmur 