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

Adrian Smith and Pedro Prieto Martín

Journal of Urban Technology, 2021, vol. 28, issue 1-2, 311-330

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10630732.2020.1786337 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:cjutxx:v:28:y:2021:i:1-2:p:311-330

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/cjut20

DOI: 10.1080/10630732.2020.1786337

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Urban Technology is currently edited by Richard E. Hanley

More articles in Journal of Urban Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().