Enabling the smart city: the progress of city e-governance in Europe

Abstract

How can electronic governance (e-governance) assist in helping cities make better decisions and become more competitive, as well as engaging with citizens in democratic activities and decision-making processes? This paper suggests that e-governance may provide a new vehicle for the emerging 'smart city'. The paper assesses the conceptual landscape for city e-governance, with a focus placed on how cities can foster collaborative digital environments to enable local competitiveness and prosperity through knowledge networks and partnerships, integrated e-services and e-participation. Drawing from the literature and the results of a comprehensive survey study in 12 European cities, we put forward a series of propositions on the future of e-city governance in Europe and the implications for strategic policy innovations to foster smart cities.