The document summarizes a presentation given by Olga Gil comparing citizen participation in smart city plans in various cities around the world, including Shanghai, Japan, Iskandar, New York, Amsterdam, and Tarragona. It discusses the scope, definitions, theoretical framework, hypothesis, and variables in Gil's model for comparing citizen participation. Key findings include that Amsterdam had the highest level of citizen participation and confirmation of the hypothesis that differentiated smart city plans lead to differences in urban governance models. Challenges discussed include bridging gaps between policymakers, businesses, and citizens in participatory projects.

1. A model for innovation?
Cities and the quest for citizen participation
Shanghai, Japan, Iskandar, New York, Amsterdam and Tarragona
Olga Gil Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND URBAN GOVERNANCE:
International Conference CITIZEN RESPONSIVE INNOVATIONS IN EUROPE AND IN AFRICA
Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal
International Geographical Union – Commission ‘Geography of Governance’
Lisbon, 9-10 April 2015. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon.Thursday, April 9th, 16:30 – 18:30, Amphitheatre B
Director Carlos Nunes Silva
Anna Trono (University of Salento, Italy), Chair. Jan Bucek (Comenius University, Slovakia) Abderrahmane- Azzouz- Diafat
(Université F. A. Sétif 1, Algeria), Discussants.

2. Using ideas and/or graphics from this presentation? Please quote as follows:
Gil, O. 2015. “A model for innovation? Cities and the quest for citizen participation: Shanghai, Japan, Iskandar, New York,
Amsterdam and Tarragona.” International conference on Local Governance and Urban planning, Citizen Responsive
Innovations in Europe and Africa. Organized by the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon,
Portugal and the International Geographical Union – Commission ‘Geography of Governance’ Lisbon, 9-10 April 2015
Scientific paper associated to this presentation is forthcoming in Academia and ResearchGate for free download in May
2015
https://uam.academia.edu/OlgaGil
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Olga_Gil2
Presentations by Dr. Gil may be downloaded from http://www.slideshare.net/olga.gil
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3. Baseline is…
Understanding
Change
Vision, Strategy and
Innovation…
Developed non for profit
at @TicWisdom since 2006
Access to Videos
Who we are
2

4. Who we are… and how we compete in a context of lack of resources
1 Scientific research, Executive coordination, sponsorship
management Academia @UAM_Madrid
2 Sponsors COIT, Accenture, TicWisdom They tell us what their interests
are, give us ideas, and they finance our work –covering trips and technology
mostly –some specialized work
3 Social intervention and visualization Paisaje Transversal, the
pure makers http://www.paisajetransversal.com
4 Non-for-profit Lab @TicWisdom Activism and difusión of ideas
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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5. Dr. Ignacio Criado
On the scientific side The Smart Local Team
Academia UAM Madrid
Olga Gil, PhD Carmen Navarro, PhD
Carlos Alba
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
How do we apply the team work to “Smart” Cities?
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6. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND URBAN GOVERNANCE:
International Conference CITIZEN RESPONSIVE INNOVATIONS IN EUROPE AND IN AFRICA
Scope
Definitions
Theory &
Framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Annex I, II.
Index
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG

7. Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 5

8. Theory Definitions of smart cities under three traditions:
1) human capital 2) technology [and 3) digital literacy]
Empirically What makes a city smart?
Differences in actual definition of smart in cities are
important. They are translated into differences in citizen
participation locally as we founded.
More on definitions: www.slideshare.net/olga.gil/smart-cities-euraconference2013/6
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 6

9. Theoretically
Differences among those three approaches: 1) human capital, 2)
technological progress, 3) the normative question: What are the skills
that people and citizens shall have to be digitally literate in the XXI
century?
Testing
People and communities variable from 2)
Whether –digital literacy- is present or absent in the eight cities, from
3)
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 7

10. Model and the variables Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 8

11. Unwraping the variable in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 9

12. Hypothesis Factors to advance the smart plans
are key to differentiate models of urban
governance
Comparison includes non European cases. Why?
Choice of cases driven by an interest to learn from
innovation practices in different world institutional
settings. Plus, an interest to get close to the
industry and citizen participation
In previous work presented in Baltimore and
Twente eight factors in five cities covered:
management and organization, technology,
governance, policy context, people and
communities, economy, built infrastructure, and
natural environment
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hypothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG 10

13. Urban Annual Growth Rate% shows converging trend
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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14. Results
Global Picture
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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15. Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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16. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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17. • Amsterdam most deviant case in
citizen participation, scoring the highest
• Confirmation of hypothesis: smart plans
are key to diferenciate cases
• Small size favors experiments, however
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesys
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Concluding remarks
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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18. People and Communities
• Have a bigger say in the case of New York, where we find
windows of opportunity for citizen developers and firms, as
well as Amsterdam.
• Citizens participate mainly as users in the case of Santander,
Tarragona and Japan -residents are those specifically
addressed to contribute in Japan.
• In the case of Iskandar, city dwellers would participate in
security issues according to the drafted plans.
• In Shanghai top participants are members of the party.
Findings in the other cases
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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19. ● Wide gap among the language of policy makers,
firms and citizens/communities. The challenge to
incorporate people and communities into
participatory projects
● The stress on what smarts entails is very different
and open to policy conceptualization --in some
cases, open to society engagement
● Evaluation is key, and we find Shanghai and Japan doing it
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Concluding remarks
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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20. Findings’ headline
“smartness as a vision to respond to local governance challenges”
Generally: Significant role that local governments
play in cities
Shanghai: Giant developing infrastructure and global
influence
Malaysia: Getting a place in the geo-regional area
Japan and Amsterdam: Facing energy constraints with
innovation
New York: Innovation for civic engagement
Spain: Opportunities for economic reactivation?
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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21. Can we conceive of a smaller scale citizenship
that provides rights and responsibilities to
denizens of a local región?
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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22. (1) “stakeholders” determined by functional effect would replace citizens grouped in territorial
constituencies as the principal agents of participation
(2) political parties would have no recognized (and certainly no privileged) access to
participation in governance arrangements and would be replaced by individual or collective
stakeholders
(3) consensus formation among representatives with unequal functional capacities would
replace various forms of voting by individuals or deputies with equal political rights as the usual
decision-making mechanism
(4) executive or administrative authorities would normally take over the role of “chartering”
such arrangements – delegating their scope and determining their composition – rather than the
competitively and popularly elected representatives of the legislature
(5) the ‘liberal’ distinction between public and private actors would be deliberately blurred in
terms of responsibility for making but also for implementing publicly binding decisions
(6) the substantive compromises that underly the process of consensus formation would have to be
reached confidentially through opaque combinations of negotiation and deliberation between
stakeholders – and only subsequently be legitimated publicly in terms of their (presumably beneficial)
functional impact
(7) Elections would increasingly become “civic rituals” with less and less impact upon the
substance of public policy and, presumably, less and less popular participation.
Serious challenges to the legitimating principles of contemporary REDs
Scope
Definitions
Theory & framework
Hipothesis
Model
Amsterdam
Findings
Challenges
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
For further research
(Schmitter et al.
suggestions 2015)
Evolution of
Democracy
Concept
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23. • Lotteries to be attached to elections
• Specialized elected councils for various minority group’s
• Democracy kiosks for voting electronically and conducting normal business with state agencies
• Voting rights for resident foreigners (denizens)
• Incompatibility of electoral or administrative mandates
• Electronic support for candidates and parliament (“smart voting”)
• Electronic monitoring and online systems for deliberation
• Discretionary voting systems
• Universal citizenship from birth
• Shared legislative mandates
• Citizenship mentors for foreign residents
• Inserting a “Right to Information” into the usual list of equal citizen rights
• Participatory budgeting
• Legislative guardians to monitor the regulatory guardians
• A “yellow card” provision for legislatures in multi-layered systems
• Variable thresholds for election to reduce incumbency advantage
• Vouchers for financing political parties
• Vouchers for funding organizations in civil society
• Extended recourse to referendums & citizen initiatives
• Extensive, even exclusive, use of postal and electronic voting
• Financial incentives for intra-party democracy
• A Citizen’s Assembly with randomly selected deputies to accept or reject specific pieces of legislation.
For further
research
(Schmitter et al.
suggestions
2015)
Evolution of
Democracy
Concept
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24. Many thanks for your
attention, and comments !
olgagil@olgagil.es
Powerpoint for download at:
Slideshare Olga Gil
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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25. Index Annex I
Previous work
Annex II
Variables in detail
Index
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26. Annex I
Previous work
Comparative research on
smart citizens and
smart cities
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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27. Analysis and Findings
1. Management and organization:
• Cases in which the central government fosters an investment lead
model, such as the case of China and municipalities;
• A case such as Iskandar, in which the regional development agency
furthers the goals set up by the government;
• A case such as the four smart pilots in Japan, where localities and
regions work together with the industry to develop solutions with global
application;
• The New York city model, in which NY university and the city council
cooperate in smart data projects
• Málaga (ICT centre), Santander (National and International network)
Tarragona case, where a Foundation has been set up to advance the
defined smart goals.
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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28. 2. Technology concerns vary a lot among the selected cases:
• Shanghai and Japan focus on the smart grid and the development of a
local and global industry.
• In cases of both China and Japan the smart cities discourse is also linked
to defending urban design and optimized services -based on distributed
power. Iskandar is concerned with traffic and CO2 emissions. New York
is focusing on big data management.
• Amsterdam is concerned with new energy models, Santander focuses
on sensors and eficiency and Tarragona is concerned with the chemical
industry and transport efficiency.
The search for solutions and the partnerships to attained them is widely
varied in the eight cases examined.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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29. 2. Technology (II)
• In China, Japan, Iskandar in Malaysia, New York in the United States and
Tarragona, Spain, smart has to do with technologies that allow us to
incorporate intelligence into systems to achieve efficiencies, reducing
energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
• In most cases incorporating new technology is linked to a discourse
pledging for smart devices to curve energy consumption in buildings -
providing a near-zero energy consumption.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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30. 3. Governance Models: different in the cases explored.
• Shanghai partners with universities, firms, foreign firms as well as banks. Users are
not part of the equation as developers.
• In Japan local governments partner with firms in different industry sectors
including the university, technological firms, power –including gas- as well as real
estate firms
• In Iskandar governance depends on the Regional Authority appointed for the
development of the conceived smart city.
• In New York we find the leadership of the city government, the university as well
as a general call to citizens developers through open technologies.
• Tarragona steering committee is a Foundation.
Governance models are affected by 4. the policy context. We find a mayor leap of the
central government in the cases of China, Iskandar and Japan, while New York,
Amsterdam, Malaga, Santander and Tarragona respond to autonomous local policies.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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31. 5. People and Communities
• Have a bigger say in the case of New York, where we find windows of
opportunity for citizen developers and firms, as well as Amsterdam.
• Citizens participate mainly as users in the case of Santander, Tarragona
and Japan -residents are those specifically addressed to contribute in
Japan.
• In the case of Iskandar, city dwellers would participate in security issues
according to the drafted plans.
• In Shanghai top participants are members of the party.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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32. 6. Economy
• An intended economy boost underlines all the plans of the smart
projects explored. Constraints are different in each case:
• Shanghai has been in better condition to fund smart projects, and
has poured funds to this strategic area, as it defines it. Banks are also
willing to ease funds for.
• Japan, Europe and the United States are all affected by fiscal cliffs
and economic downturn.
• Malaysia is in better shape, and is trying to gain momentum
promoting Iskandar as an important trade hub in Asia, looking
forward foreign capital as a main driver of Iskandar.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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33. 7. Built infrastructure
Has different scope in the cases we have explored. Following Hollands (2008)
‘undergird’ the social capital is critical to embed the required the informational and
communicative qualities of smart cities. From this perspective:
– New York would be the city rating higher.
– However, the focus that Shanghai and Japan are putting in the smart
grid should not be downrated. Smart grids could represent an
interesting and disrupting way to fuel energy thirsty cities.
– Conceptually the possibilities for users and citizen engagement in built
infrastructure might be linked to the concept of Internet with Things,
suggested by Russell Davies. This is an evolved concept from the
Internet of Things, with scope for citizen empowerment. It refers to
developments driven by citizens in a distributed way, using
programming based on Arduino open architecture
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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34. 8. Natural environment
• Concerns present in all the cases explored.
• Japan did set up the smart pilots in the aftermath of the
nuclear accidents.
• China faces severe environmental concerns. Malaysia is also
aware in Iskandar.
• New York has suffered severe impact of climate change in
november 2012.
• Málaga, Santander and Tarragona are also concerned.
This field poses the biggest challenges at a global level.
Analysis and Findings
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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35. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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36. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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37. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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38. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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39. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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40. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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41. Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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42. ANNEX II
ALL THE EIGHT VARIABLES IN DETAIL
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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43. Variables in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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44. Variables in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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45. Variables in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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46. Variables in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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47. Variables in the study
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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48. Policy context:
– “Political components represent various political elements (city
council, city government and city mayor) and external pressures such
as policy agendas and politics that may affect the outcomes of
initiatives” Chourabi
– Federal systems present additional challenges derived from the
particularities of the relationships (intergovernmental relationships)
Chourabi
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49. Smart citizens, smart cities? and ideas for the future.
Gil is chief executive for applied research. Most recent international presentations include
Baltimore, Tweente (Holland), and Warsawa where work was discussed with world class experts on
city development and public policy
Education Ph.D. in Social and Political Sciences. European University Institute, Florence. 2000. Thesis: The Politics of Telecommunications in the
United States and Spain (1875-2000). Florence, Italy. Published by CIS (Madrid). AECPA Best Book Award 2003. M.A. in Political Science, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. Thesis: “Structuring Telecommunications Markets from the Brazilian and the United States
Perspectives (1875-1994)”. Postgraduate Certificate in Latin American Studies. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 1994.Bachelor Degree in
Political Science (1987-1992) and Bachelor Degree in Journalism (1985-1990), Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
She also joined INSEAD (strategy), IESE (future finance) and IE (project management) for spezialization courses
Citizen participation in cities Olga Gil @OlgaG
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50. ¡Muito obrigada!
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