This is a study of Enlightenment in Edinburgh like no other. Using data and models provided by urban innovation and Smart City theory, it pinpoints the distinctive features that made Enlightenment in the Scottish capital possible.

In a journey packed with evidence and incident, Murray Pittock explores various civic networks - such as the newspaper and printing businesses, the political power of the gentry and patronage networks, as well as the pub and coffee-house life - as drivers of cultural change. His analysis reveals that the attributes of civic development, which lead to innovation and dynamism, were at the heart of what made Edinburgh a smart city of 1700.