Empowering Smart Cities Though Community Participation a Literature Review

Abstract

In the recent times, the concept of smart cities has gained momentum and has received considerable attention of urban planner, administrators, policymakers, etc., as a response to the complex problems associated with the unprecedented urbanization. However, citizen engagement or public participation is the key element in the smart-city concept to optimally reach the objectives. The intention of smart cities can only be met by making the communities smart and enabling the end-users and local people to involve in city governance. This article investigates the role of public participation in decision-making, transforming the same into a smart city in the real sense. The article also highlights the adaptable tools and techniques for effective public participation and limitations of this approach in the existing planning machinery in India. The paper facilitates a review of literature from varied research fields is accomplished to understand the role of community participation in smart-city context and to identify the different tools and techniques, empowering people to participate in city governance to make it smart.