This article argues that four paradigm shifts have unfolded in boundary and border studies from the delimitation of the Durand line as the Indo-Afghan frontier. Three subsequent paradigm shifts relate to cooperative management of the Canada–US border after WW1, cultural hybridization across the Mexico-US border since the 1980s, and current networked assemblage of EU’s external border. The paradigm-shift framework connects conceptual advancements in boundary making and border studies with the geopolitical prominence of given borders. The article claims that scholars draw ideal types from the paradigmatic borders of their times, either by accepting or contesting the values anchored in them.

Planning education is the transmission of technical knowledge applied to the design and regulation of space in towns and countries, together with the ethical consciousness of how this knowledge can affect society and the environment.

This article offers an interpretation of urban artificial intelligence based on the concept of media and more specifically on Marshall McLuhan’s media theory. The Canadian scholar’s legacy, imbued with humanistic values, can inform an understanding of contemporary intelligent media that transcends the efficiency-focused discourses on the smart city. The article also argues that it is unnecessary to make a conclusive choice between artificial and collective intelligence as the term ‘collective’ can be given a wider meaning so as to encompass, beyond humans, sociotechnical communication systems.