His current research focuses on light and lighting as core elements of urban fabric, and aims to foster dialogue and collaboration between social research, lighting design and urban planning, particularly in public realm space and infrastructure. Prior to this, he worked for many years on information technology, media and digital culture in development contexts, including South Asia, West Africa and Latin America, with projects for UNESCO and DFID (publications included New Media, Development and Globalization, Polity Press, 2013; and The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach, Berg, 2001, with Daniel Miller). Other publications include The Technological Economy (Routledge, 2005, with Andrew Barry); Consumer Culture and Modernity (Polity Press, 1998); and Market Society (Polity Press, 2002, with Fran Tonkiss)