In their recent publication, de Waal and Dignum explore the role of citizens in various conceptions of ‘the smart city’. While the dominant discourse surrounding smart cities has been notably ‘techno–centric and top-down’, there has recently been an observed shift towards a new paradigm of ‘bottom-up’ smart city initiatives, harnessing citizens to create and use smart services. In particular, de Waal and Dignum examine what it means to be a ‘smart citizen’ in this era of digital media technologies, and present different visions of citizenship in the smart city.
