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Challenges for Connecting Citizens and Smart Cities: ICT, E-Governance and Blockchain

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  • Thays A. Oliveira

    (Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Edifici Tànger, 122-140, 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Miquel Oliver

    (Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Edifici Tànger, 122-140, 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Helena Ramalhinho

    (Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The way citizens interact with cities affects overall life quality. Their participation in social decisions is of paramount importance for helping on public decisions that affect governance, regulation and education. This interaction has the potential of being boosted within the scope of smart and digital cities, especially by recent advances in blockchain technology. This work introduces insights about how smart cities’ concepts and innovative technologies can help society to face daily challenges for improving citizens’ awareness. Digital technologies are able to drive social and economic development by employing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to promote innovation. In this context, e-governance, in conjunction with disruptive concepts such as blockchain, is showing up as a fundamental tool for a decentralized democracy. This study reviews, discusses, raises open points and presents suggestions towards an efficient, transparent and sustainable use of technology, applied to future cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Thays A. Oliveira & Miquel Oliver & Helena Ramalhinho, 2020. "Challenges for Connecting Citizens and Smart Cities: ICT, E-Governance and Blockchain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-21, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:7:p:2926-:d:342271
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    2. Vincenzo Varriale & Antonello Cammarano & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2020. "The Unknown Potential of Blockchain for Sustainable Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
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    8. Laizah Sashah Mutasa & Tiko Iyamu, 2023. "The stimulus of factors in implementing the e-governance concept in Namibia," International Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge Development (IJSKD), IGI Global, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Najib Rahman Sabory & Tomonobu Senjyu & Mir Sayed Shah Danish & Mikaeel Ahmadi & Hameedullah Zaheb & Mustafa Halim, 2021. "A Framework for Integration of Smart and Sustainable Energy Systems in Urban Planning Processes of Low-Income Developing Countries: Afghanistan Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-24, July.
    10. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Steven J. Simske & John G. Keogh, 2022. "Blockchain technology in the smart city: a bibliometric review," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 2875-2906, October.
    11. Dominique Lepore & Niccolò Testi & Edna Pasher, 2023. "Building Inclusive Smart Cities through Innovation Intermediaries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, February.
    12. Satı, Zümrüt Ecevit, 2024. "Comparison of the criteria affecting the digital innovation performance of the European Union (EU) member and candidate countries with the entropy weight-TOPSIS method and investigation of its importa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    13. Anassaya Chawviang & Supaporn Kiattisin, 2022. "Sustainable Development: Smart Co-Operative Management Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-25, March.
    14. Anna Jasińska-Biliczak, 2022. "Smart-City Citizen Engagement: The Answer to Energy Savings in an Economic Crisis?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-15, November.
    15. Zahid Yousaf & Magdalena Radulescu & Crenguta Ileana Sinisi & Luminita Serbanescu & Loredana Maria Păunescu, 2021. "Towards Sustainable Digital Innovation of SMEs from the Developing Countries in the Context of the Digital Economy and Frugal Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-28, May.
    16. Abhirup Khanna & Anushree Sah & Vadim Bolshev & Michal Jasinski & Alexander Vinogradov & Zbigniew Leonowicz & Marek Jasiński, 2021. "Blockchain: Future of e-Governance in Smart Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    17. Seunghwan Myeong & Syed Asad Abbas Bokhari, 2023. "Building Participative E-Governance in Smart Cities: Moderating Role of Institutional and Technological Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    18. Bernd W. Wirtz & Marcel Becker & Florian W. Schmidt, 2022. "Smart city services: an empirical analysis of citizen preferences," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1063-1080, December.
    19. Vineet Paliwal & Shalini Chandra & Suneel Sharma, 2020. "Blockchain Technology for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review and a Classification Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-39, September.
    20. Mónica L. Chaparro-Mantilla & Clara I. Peña de Carrillo & Ruth Zárate-Rueda, 2021. "A Model for Competent Social Weaving in Smart Cities, Analyzed in Boys and Girls with Cognitive Impairment," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 2083-2110, December.
    21. Yeimi Xiomara Holguín Rengifo & Juan Felipe Herrera Vargas & Alejandro Valencia-Arias, 2023. "Proposal for a Comprehensive Tool to Measure Smart Cities under the Triple-Helix Model: Capacities Learning, Research, and Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    22. Jesús J. Cambra‐Fierro & Mª. Eugenia López‐Pérez & Iguacel Melero‐Polo & Lourdes Pérez & Macarena Tejada‐Tejada, 2024. "Smart innovations for sustainable cities: Insights from a public‐private innovation ecosystem," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1654-1666, May.
    23. Monika Wawer & Kalina Grzesiuk & Dorota Jegorow, 2022. "Smart Mobility in a Smart City in the Context of Generation Z Sustainability, Use of ICT, and Participation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-30, June.

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