The Impact of Stakeholders’ Management Measures on Citizens’ Participation Level in Implementing Smart Sustainable Cities

Abstract

Smart sustainable cities (SSC) tend to utilise technology to promote themselves by involving their citizens in urban development. Several cities around the world have adopted the “smart city” label in recognition of these advantages. In fact, citizen engagement in public urban development and decision making has been acknowledged globally in many countries; yet, evaluations of the outcomes that allow the contribution of empowerment to be measured and compared with other influences are lacking. This study examines the correlation between stakeholder management measures (SMM) and citizen participation level (CPL) in the process of achieving an SSC. Four SMM factors were extracted from a literature review and sent out to be examined by experts in the field of built environments. Mean score (MS) ranking was used to confirm the importance of these variables in terms of predicting correlations with CPL. The results were generalised by multiple regression analysis techniques. This study shows a positive significant correlation between SMM and CPL in terms of Regulation, Collaboration, Legitimates, and Control. These four predictors make a significant contribution to escalating the levels of engagement and empowerment of citizen participation (CP). This paper contributes to knowledge in the field by identifying pillars that can increase CPL. Our findings could support the stakeholders of SSC projects to raise CPL, not only by hearing their voices but also by delegating power.