The Evolution of Smart City Governance: From Bureaucratic Hierarchies to Collaborative Networks

Nir Abudraham ()
Additional contact information
Nir Abudraham: Gaia College

A chapter in Entrepreneurship and Human-Centric Business Strategies for Social and Economic Resilience, 2026, pp 2539-2558 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary trajectory of smart city governance from traditional bureaucratic models to contemporary platform-based approaches. Through a systematic literature review spanning 2000–2024, we examine the transformative journey of urban governance systems, identifying four distinct developmental phases: traditional governance, early e-government adoption, data-driven evolution, and contemporary smart governance. Our analysis reveals a fundamental shift from hierarchical, siloed decision-making structures toward collaborative, networked governance models that emphasize citizen participation and cross-sector partnerships. While technological advancements—from basic digitization to the proliferation of IoT and AI—have served as key catalysts for this evolution, enabling real-time data utilization and innovative urban management approaches (Kitchin, GeoJournal 79:1–14, 2014), our findings demonstrate that successful smart city governance requires more than technological implementation alone. Critical success factors include strategic vision development, robust citizen engagement mechanisms, comprehensive data governance frameworks, and effective interdepartmental collaboration. These findings carry significant implications for urban planners and policymakers seeking to implement sustainable and inclusive smart city initiatives. These findings demonstrate that technological advancement must be coupled with institutional reform and citizen engagement to achieve sustainable outcomes. The study recommends that cities adopt a collaborative platform approach rather than top-down technology deployment, prioritizing digital inclusion and transparent data governance. This framework provides actionable guidance for urban planners seeking to balance technological innovation with democratic participation in their smart city initiatives.

Keywords: Smart city governance; Urban governance evolution; Digital transformation; Citizen participation; Collaborative governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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:spr:prbchp:978-981-95-6415-6_157

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819564156

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6415-6_157

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().