scholarly journals Delivering Smart Governance in a Future City: The Case of Glasgow

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Leleux ◽  
C. William R. Webster

In 2013, Glasgow City Council received significant funding to develop innovative smart city applications, including the delivery of new electronic public services and the co-production of governance. This case study examines the processes that underpin the ways in which the ‘Future City Glasgow programme’ delivered ‘smart governance’, in the context of a regenerating post-industrial city. We assess the contribution of smart city technologies and data collection and monitoring processes designed to facilitate citizen engagement and sustainable governance practices. The Future City Glasgow programme ran from 2013‒2015, and included the Open Glasgow project, and ‘Demonstrator Projects’ of: Energy Efficiency; Intelligent Street Lighting; Active Travel; and, Integrated Social Transport. Opportunities arose from these demonstrators for developing co-production and legacy initiatives. The case study provides insight into the ways in which citizens and local communities in Glasgow have been engaged in governance processes. This engagement has taken place via traditional and innovative smart city technologies, and in particular in relation to policy formulation, service design and delivery. It finds that the co-creation of governance is shaped by vested interests, that engagement is fragmented and partial, but at the same time new technologies, social media and shared learning opportunities offer innovative new ways for <em>some</em> citizens to influence local governance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lim Seng Boon ◽  
Jalaluddin Abdul Malek ◽  
Mohd Yusof Hussain ◽  
Zurinah Tahir

Public participation is gaining popularity in local governance practices where the involvement of the public in the decision-making process is essential in promoting good governance concepts. However, local authorities are facing challenges in guiding public involvement in e-government services such as smart city programmes. Hence, this paper aimed to examine the participation process in e-government services and smart city programmes, and later to recommend a framework to assess participation level and process in local context. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, was selected as a case study where interviews and observations were conducted with thematic analysis based on relevant themes. Through the selected attributes and designated questions in the participation framework, time and effort can be saved in addition to clearing the ambiguities of stakeholders who are keen on gaining the authentic participation culture in e-services and smart city programmes. This study has provided new insights on how e-government can be implemented by the local government after adopting a smart city policy in the context of public participation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loai Ali Zeenalabden Ali Alsaid

PurposeThis study seeks to explore the powerful role(s) of institutionalised performance measurement systems or metrics in smart city governance in a politically and militarily sensitive developing country.Design/methodology/approachThis study extends the application and contribution of a multi-level institutional framework to previous management accounting literature on the potential relationship between performance measurement and smart city governance. The value of utilising a multi-level framework is to broaden and deepen theoretical analyses about this relationship to include the effect of political pressure from the military regime at the macro level on the institutionalisation of a performance measurement system at the micro-organisational level. Taking the New Cairo city council smart electricity networks project (Egypt) as an interpretive qualitative single-case study, data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, direct observations and documentary readings.FindingsPerformance measurement systems or metrics, especially in politically and militarily sensitive smart cities, constitutes a process of cascading (macro-micro) institutionalisation that is closely linked to sustainable developments taking place in the wider arena of urban policies. Going a step further, accounting-based performance metrics, arising from political and military pressures towards public-private collaborations, contribute to smart city management and accountability (governance). Institutionalised measurement systems or performance metrics play a powerful accounting role(s) in shaping and reshaping political decisions and military actions in the city council.Originality/valueTheoretically, this study goes beyond the cascading institutionalisation process by arguing for the powerful role(s) of institutionalised accounting and performance measurement systems in smart city decision-making and governance. Empirically, it enriches previous literature with a case study of a developing Arab Spring country, characterised by an emerging economy, political sensitivity and military engagement, rather than developed and more stable countries that have been thoroughly investigated. It is also among the first politically engaged accounting case studies to highlight public-private collaborations as a recent reform in public sector governance and accountability.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da-Chi Liao ◽  
Hsin-Che Wu ◽  
Chen-Hsun Li

This paper discusses the theoretical rheology of local governance from the bureaucratic system to the network city and explores whether and how such a city network can be developed in a dual local government system. This paper suggests that, in dual systems, councilors are nodes which extend their networks, and councilors together can construct a more comprehensive network than a city executive branch alone does, so as to remedy the executive branch’s deficiencies concerning city affairs. This paper chooses Kaohsiung city council as its case study and provides evidence that the network developed by city council and councilors covers many city affairs which are ignored by the city executive branch. This result also implies that the network city may be better feasible in a dual local government system than in a unitary one.


Author(s):  
Alouis Chilunjika ◽  
Sharon RT Chilunjika

The Zimbabwean local government environment has been affected by chronic defects in the provision of basic public services. As such, city twinning has been adopted as one of the strategies to address the impasse in service delivery as it allows for the sharing of expertise in local governance, development, strategic international relations and the enhancement of service delivery in local authorities. Using the exploratory case study research design the study explores the impact the twinning arrangement between Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and eThekwini Municipality and how it has enhanced service delivery in Bulawayo. Data was gathered from written documents, observations and in-depth interviews. The study established that the BCC-eThekwini cooperation has been very fruitful and Bulawayo City Council has benefited immensely through the exchange of ideas and information as well as technology transfer among others from this twinning arrangement. Nonetheless, it was also observed that weak legal and financial frameworks hinders the city twinning partnership from realising its full fruition. The study concluded that city twinning between BCC and eThekwini is a favourable route for creating sustainable South to South linkages that benefit developing cities. As recommendations, the article argues that there is need for clarity in defining the partnership roles and goals, community involvement as well as an enabling policy and institutional environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 263-283
Author(s):  
Alexandra Flynn ◽  
Mariana Valverde

In May 2020 Sidewalk Labs, the Google-affiliated ‘urban innovation’ company, announced that it was abandoning its ambition to build a ‘smart city’ on Toronto’s waterfront and thus ending its three-year relationship with Waterfront Toronto. This is thus a good time to look back and examine the whole process, with a view to drawing lessons both for the future of Canadian smart city projects and the future of public sector agencies with appointed boards. This article leaves to one side the gadgets and sensors that drew much attention to the proposed project, and instead focuses on the governance aspects, especially the role of the public ‘partner’ in the contemplated public-private partnership. We find that the multi-government agency, Waterfront Toronto, had transparency and accountability deficiencies, and failed to consistently defend the public interest from the beginning (the Request for Proposals issued in May of 2017).  Because the public partner in the proposed ‘deal’ was not, as is usually the case in smart city projects, a municipal corporation, our research allows us to address an important question in administrative law, namely: what powers should administrative bodies outside of government have in crafting smart city policies? In Canada, the comparatively limited Canadian scholarly work regarding urban law and governance has mainly focused on municipal governments themselves, and this scholarly void has contributed to the fact that the public is largely unaware of the numerous local bodies that oversee local matters beyond municipal governments.  This paper hones into the details of the WT-Sidewalk Labs partnership to understand the powers and limitations of WT in assuming a governmental role in establishing and overseeing ‘smart city’ relationships. It ultimately argues that WT has not been – nor should it be – empowered to create a smart city along Toronto’s post-industrial waterfront. Such tasks, we argue, belong to democratic bodies like municipalities. An important contribution of this paper is to situate the evolving role of public authorities in the local governance literature and in the context of administrative law.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Demokaan Demirel

Purpose This study aims to discuss the transformational effect of the smart governance concept, which is one of the complementary elements of the smart city concept and to explain the change in governance structures according to the developments in information and communication technology. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the case study as one of the qualitative research methods is preferred, and smart city models of Barcelona, Amsterdam, Kocaeli and Ankara are examined. Findings In the research, scientific studies in the academic literature were evaluated according to the content analysis, and as a result of this analysis, the cities examined were grouped as “beginner,” “medium” and “advanced.” In the group, the characteristics of smart cities and the services they offer were taken into account. In this context, smart governance methods and their transformational effects are analyzed. Originality/value The most important contribution of this study to the literature is to identify the important characteristics of developed and successful smart city initiatives and to encourage their application to other developing world cities as a best practices model.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
David Batchelor

<p><b>Local governments are innovatively applying smart city technology to resolve challenges in their jurisdictions. These challenges commonly relate to environmental sustainability, infrastructure, and transportation, and result in novel discourses within local government strategies and operations, such as Smart Environment, Smart Infrastructure, and Smart Mobility. Driven by the success of these discourses, local governments seek further solutions through converging the smart city technology with other disciplines. The next likely convergence is with the heritage discipline, subsequently producing the Smart Heritage discourse. Academic literature records that Smart Heritage is an emergent yet unformed discourse that is on the verge of application within local government. Smart Heritage presents opportunities to converge historical narratives with the automated and autonomous capabilities of smart technology. However, due to its novelty, the local government sector has no guidance on delivering Smart Heritage within strategies and operations. Therefore, this thesis comprehensively explores and defines the Smart Heritage discourse and addresses Smart Heritage's delivery within local government strategies and operations.</b></p> <p>The original contributions to knowledge in this thesis are the first thorough definition of Smart Heritage in academic literature and the production of Smart Heritage Principles, which direct the delivery of Smart Heritage within local government. This thesis firstly defines Smart Heritage through an investigation into the nascent patchwork of academic literature at the intersection of the smart city and heritage disciplines. This definition establishes the discursive framework for the subsequent inquiry into how to deliver Smart Heritage in local government organisations. In this inquiry, the researcher conducts three case studies on local governments in Australia: Broken Hill City Council, the City of Melbourne, and the City of Newcastle. In each case study, the researcher analyses strategic smart city and heritage documents and then interviews their smart city and heritage advisors regarding strategic and operational convergences between the disciplines. The researcher then synthesises the resulting data into cross-case key considerations that contextualise a base understanding of how local governments deliver Smart Heritage. Using this understanding, the researcher conducts a second round of interviews and synthesis that, in turn, produces the refined Smart Heritage Principles. The researcher validates the principles’ relevancy and applicability through an additional case study with Wellington City Council in New Zealand.</p> <p>The research finds that Smart Heritage in the academic literature is nascent yet organically forming around a shared discourse between the smart city and heritage disciplines. As a result, there are numerous understandings of Smart Heritage. Nevertheless, these understandings agree that Smart Heritage convergences historical contextual narratives with automatic and autonomous technologies and advances from the passive Digital Heritage discourse. The case studies find that there is a foundation for Smart Heritage within local government through strategic documents that share similar focuses and advisors who seek multi-disciplinary convergences. However, the disciplines’ overlapping is not explicitly recognised in strategic documents and operational models, leading to inadequate financial and staff resourcing of Smart Heritage and inefficient cross-disciplinary initiatives in local government. The research identifies four thematic key considerations that address delivering Smart Heritage within local government; recognition, delivery, resourcing, and innovation; and proposes four Smart Heritage Principles for local governments to follow in order to deliver the discourse. The researcher presents the principles in an industry-ready document at the end of the thesis.</p> <p>The implications of this research are the increased visibility of Smart Heritage as an academic discourse and support for the delivery of Smart Heritage within local government strategies and operations. Smart Heritage becomes more visible as this research solidifies then illuminates a discursive pathway that researchers can engage with. Importantly, this research presents evidence that Smart Heritage is extant within academic literature and local governments, supporting its position as a constructive academic and practical discourse. The Smart Heritage Principles support the delivery of Smart Heritage within local government strategies and operations through the applied guidance they offer the organisations. As the industry-ready document is the first publication with this focus, the influence on the delivery of Smart Heritage is significant. The researcher aspires to share the Smart Heritage Principles document beyond this research context through its distribution to other councils globally.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
AbdulGhani Gaghman

Governance has become one of the most important concepts in developing countries. Consequently, many countries are trying to pursue good governance and adoption according to the established concept of governance in order to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth and development. Yemeni economy has been in deep recession due to Saudi alliance war since March 2015. Once the war stops, restructuring economy required a new development approach with firm and well define good governance principles aiming to achieve Sustainable Development goals. Yemen as one of the least developing country, not all of its efforts to move ahead economically have been successful. There is more than one reason for its failure to achieve sustainable economic development, but one is absence of good governance. International organizations, donors, and researchers have prescribed good governance as a solution to persistent development problems. This paper is an attempt to enrich this subject, at least in part, by examining the value of adopting good governance on achieving sustainable development. Based on research findings and learning from other countries experience, development progress and challenges, general framework to implement good governance has been recommended to be consider in the future national development agenda to tolerate achieving sustainable development. Building human capacity is one of the key requirements needed to make a qualitative shift towards sustainable development. The current situation of sustainable development and governance in Yemen as a case study has been reviewed in an explanatory methodologies using regional statistics and global database such as UN organizations, World Bank, HDI, SDGs and Governance indicators to examine the progress made over the last decade. Paper recommended practical steps and actions to be taken to help the official government to reform the current institutional arrangements at the regional as well as national levels, such as adopt governance principles, long term planning, and establishing “High Councils for good governance” to ensure integrated policy formulation, adequate cooperation and coordination among different government entities, and between the government and non-state stakeholders. These recommendations and result have been presented to the Yemeni official government and economic institutions aiming to be integrated in the reform strategies, in particular in the Yemen National Development Strategy (2030). Based on research findings and learning from other countries experience, development progress and challenges, general framework to implement good governance has been recommended to be consider in the future national development agenda to achieve sustainable development.   Keywords: Sustainable Development, Good Governance, Economic Reform, Yemen, SDGs


REFORMASI ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Friska Ayu O ◽  
Mardiyono , ◽  
Andy Fefta Wijaya

Governance concept implies a shift in the role of the government, private sector and community, so that it necessary synergy in the implementation of the government. Community involvement in policy formulation needed to build the quality of local government. In reality, this ideal has not been able to be implemented in developing countries, in particular Indonesia. In Batu City, there is resistance against the construction of hotel residents who opposed the Rayja Local Regulation no. 7 of 2011 on Spatial Planning state that Sumber Gemulo is a protected area. Differences in knowledge caused a power space on each of the actors, in particular the Government. Space power it seeks to create a discourse by the main actor, Mayor. A series of regulatory practices that occur as a strategy of "disciplining” and "tourism city" as a discourse. It also has affected to create a new claims and governmentality among actors. This research used explanatory - case study method. To minimize bias in the classification of the actor then analyzes that support this research is Narrative Policy Analysis (NPA). This research was conducted in Batu City, East Java Province. The results of this study prove that the government is in the process of giving the IMB Hotel Rayja is not regulatory governance practices.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 870
Author(s):  
Jitka Fialová ◽  
Dastan Bamwesigye ◽  
Jan Łukaszkiewicz ◽  
Beata Fortuna-Antoszkiewicz

This study aimed to explore the case study of Brno city regarding smart city models. We analyzed Brno considering smart and sustainable city elements, i.e., smart mobility/public transport, smart technology, smart people, smart governance, smart economy, smart living, and smart environment based on transport, energy, and environment referred herein as the smart city and sustainability model. Therefore, we investigated a case study of Brno city in the Czech Republic. We used qualitative techniques such as case study, exploration, observation, and description. We analyzed and comprehended the trends in the various features of smart city and sustainable development of the city of Brno. The findings showed that Brno city is doing its best to maintain smart city models through its governance organs and structures. The city is also working hard to improve some of the aspects that are still lagging. The ongoing developments and the future ones are based on strategic planning for both the short term and long term such as Brno2023, Brno2030, and Brno2050. It was found that Brno has a very well-planned transport system and is integrated with other aspects such as technology, energy, such as the electricity that moves the trolleybuses and trams, and environment. We strongly conclude that even though Brno city still struggles to achieve total sustainability, it is still a model and reflection of a smart and sustainable city. Finally, we noted that Brno city has very good plans and vision the “DNA” of a smart city. However, the implementation still suffers political willingness.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document