Towards a Working Model of e-Participation in Smart Cities: What the Research Suggests

Abstract

Recent e-government research has focused on the concept of smart cities, which can be broadly defined as cities that significantly incorporate new technologies into their governance. More specific definitions of smart cities exist, but there does not seem to be broad consensus on consistent smart city elements. However, our research does reveal some reoccurring themes in research on smart city definitions. Additionally, it is clear from extant research that e-participation is not considered to be a consistent element of the smart city. When e-participation does exist in smart cities, it is usually not very robust and tends to focus on service delivery rather than public consultation and policy making. This is unfortunate, give that there are some municipal policy areas that electronically facilitated public participation in government has found success. We identify some of these areas to demonstrate the advantages of e-participation in smart cities. We also offer some elements that are conducive to enacting and sustaining robust e-participatory practices in smart cities.