Smart governance: Opportunities for technologically-mediated citizen co-production

Abstract

Citizens increasingly contribute directly to the evolution of sustainable cities, in particular where new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) promise to transform urban governance into 'Smart city governance' and where ICTs are integrated in strategies for citizen participation and the co-production of public services and policy. This article provides a multidisciplinary understanding of Smart city governance, including new insights around the opportunities for citizen engagement in the co-production of service-delivery and decisionmaking. Using findings from a review of Smart cities literature and practice, the article aims to establish the breadth of Smart city initiatives which emphasise citizen participation and the realities of delivering such initiatives in complex city environments. Emphasising the emerging role of the technologically 'empowered' citizen, a new conceptual model is presented, where mutual trust, shared understanding and new opportunities for co-production emerge in an environment mediated by new technology-this form of Smart governance is referred to here as 'technologically-mediated municipal reciprocity'.

Mainstreaming gender equality in smart cities: Theoretical, methodological and empirical challenges

“…The framework proposed to mainstream gender issues in smart governance relies on two important elements that are peculiar of smart cities: big data and civic engagement (Townsend, 2014;Webster & Leleux, 2018). In smart communities, in fact, governments should use ICTs and all available data and information to solve urban problems in cooperation with citizens (Mellouli et al, 2014).…”

Institutional trustworthiness and national security governance: Evidence from six European countries

“…In Latin America, for example, the potential for the democratization of state–society relations has been famously tested through “participatory budgeting” (Avritzer, ), while in Europe innovative mechanisms like “Citizens Juries,” “Citizens Panels,” and “Open Space” have become more common (Fung, ). More recently, such innovations have been supplemented by mechanisms that are realized through new digital technologies, such as electronic voting, “hackathons,” “living labs,” “maker spaces” and online discussion forums (Webster & Leleux, ). Future research may assess whether any of these and other mechanisms could be mobilized in the security sphere, and the levels, practices, and institutions in which they could be so mobilized.…”

ICT-enabled co-production of public services: Barriers and enablers. A systematic review

“…This may take the form of facilitating traditional forms of co-production of public services (Rodríguez Bolívar, 2015;Webster & Leleux, 2018), or, of helping establish new ways to co-produce. An example of ICT-enabled co-production supporting traditional coproduction in the health sector would be a doctor's provision of health information effective electronic touchpoints, such as health websites, devices and applications, and patients using these to supplement information about their condition and improve recovery prospects (DonHee, 2017).…”