Social Inclusion Indicators for Building Citizen-Centric Smart Cities: A Systematic Literature Review

Jalaluddin Abdul Malek, Seng Boon Lim and Tan Yigitcanlar
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Jalaluddin Abdul Malek: Social, Environmental and Developmental Sustainability Center (SEEDS), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Seng Boon Lim: Social, Environmental and Developmental Sustainability Center (SEEDS), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Tan Yigitcanlar: School of Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-29

Abstract: Despite the rhetoric of “citizen-first,” which has been tokenized in recent years by the smart city administrations, what it means has long been unclear to many, including the public at large. Put simply, this rhetoric concerns the mindset of the members of a local community and places them at the heart of the smart city initiatives. In order to bring further clarity to this issue under the current neoliberal urbanism, this study aimed to identify the key indicators of citizen-centric smart cities from the perspective of participative governance practices and citizens’ responsibilities. To achieve this aim, this study involved a systematic literature review of the social inclusion indicators for building citizen-centric smart cities. The social inclusion indicators that were formed were verified by practitioners to suit the local contexts of an emerging and developing country, in this case, Malaysia. The findings of the review revealed that: (a) the acceptance of social inclusion indicators was mainly limited to the realm of democratic developed countries, leaders’ understanding of citizenship, the delegation of decision-making power in governance practices, the participative culture of societies, and individual citizens’ self-discipline; (b) the social inclusion indicators may not be welcomed in emerging and developing countries; (c) in the long term, these indicators would shed light on the rise of self-organizing cities that will gain popularity in potential city developments, be it in developed or developing countries.

Keywords: citizen centrism; citizen-centric smart cities; neoliberal urbanism; public participation; participative governance; participatory planning; right to the city; smart city; smart citizenship; social inclusion indicator; sustainable urban development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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