A framework for citizen participation in the Smartcity design process

Abstract

As cities concentrate on the utilization of technology to solve urbanization challenges, the concerns of focusing on the technology itself and not the people have gained prominence. The idea is that since citizens are the cities’ greatest resource and users of city services, all smart city initiatives should be citizen-centered and citizen-driven. Citizen participation is crucial for the success of smart city initiatives, as it can help to ensure that the needs and concerns of the community are considered in the design and implementation of these initiatives. Despite the benefits of citizen participation cases abound globally in cities that have not utilized the concept in their smart city projects, leading to failure, sometimes with disastrous effects. Although several frameworks for managing citizen participation in smart cities exist, they do not cater for both the social and technical aspects of participation, and are not suited for a context of a developing country. Therefore, this research aimed at developing a framework for citizen participation in the smart city design process dubbed FCP. Design Science research methodology was adopted in this study because the methodology aims at producing artifacts that contribute to the theoretical body of knowledge but are also relevant to the community in this case the city. The developed framework extended the E-participation framework for public policy formulation developed by Salamat Bin and included components from the CitiVoice framework. The FCP includes factors that affect citizen participation in designing a smart city as identified from the literature and contextual requirements derived from the field study that was conducted in the jurisdiction of Kampala Capital City Authority. The FCP was evaluated by instantiation through a simple prototype and then structured walk-through. The evaluation was according to design science parameters (efficiency and usability) on a five-point Likert scale. The results from the evaluation presented high average percentage for Efficiency and usability of the framework. Findings from the evaluation of the framework indicate that if the framework is implemented it would increase citizens’ interaction and participation with the city administration and give them a chance to participate in the development of their city. However, there is need for commitment on the side of the city administration as participation could turn out to be overwhelming. The concern of inclusivity for persons with disability who cannot use digital means to interact was pointed out. The implementation of the framework should be preceded by an adequate budget allocation to the Smart City projects, communication infrastructure, public awareness about the smart city concept and adequate human capital at the city council. Additionally, legal frameworks, such as policies, should be enacted to support all levels of citizen participation. Generally, the FCP should be used as a valuable tool for policy makers, city planners and other stakeholders in the smart city design and should guide the main streaming of citizen participation in city development.