Going Beyond the Smart City? Implementing Technopolitical Platforms for Urban Democracy in Madrid and Barcelona

Bibliographic Data

ID15318445
AuthorsAdrian Smith (0000-0001-8027-712X, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, England, UK; Centro de Innovación en Tecnología para el Desarrollo Humano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, corresponding author), Pedro Prieto Martín (0000-0002-7415-2686, Institute of Development Studies)
Year2020
Volume28
Issue1-2
Pages311-330
Publication date2020-08-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Urban Technology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1063-0732 • E-ISSN: 1466-1853
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10630732.2020.1786337
OpenAlexW3042630731
LanguageEN
Citations received43
References cited29

Digital platforms for urban democracy are analyzed in Madrid and Barcelona. These platforms permit citizens to debate urban issues with other citizens; to propose developments, plans, and policies for city authorities; and to influence how city budgets are spent. Contrasting with neoliberal assumptions about Smart Citizenship, the technopolitics discourse underpinning these developments recognizes that the technologies facilitating participation have themselves to be developed democratically. That is, technopolitical platforms are built and operate as open, commons-based processes for learning, reflection, and adaptation. These features prove vital to platform implementation consistent with aspirations for citizen engagement and activism

Adaptation (eye · Citizenship · Civic engagement · Civil engineering · Commons · Democracy · Internet of Things · Political science · Politics · Right to the city · Smart city · Sociology · Underpinning · Urban planning · Urban policy · E-Government and Public Services · Engineering · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Law · Public Administration · Smart Cities and Technologies

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