The “Bottom-up Smart City”: Filling the Gap Between Theory and Practice

This paper explores the relatively new phenomenon of citizen participation in the Smart City context. We present a case study comparative analysis of two participatory approaches implemented in two European Smart Cities. Each of those operational perspectives is studied in view of the theoretical concepts conveyed by the scientific state of the art, this way highlighting similarities and gaps between theory and practice. The results are focused on the various existing
interpretations of the “citizen participation” and the “Smart City” definitions, and on the different selection processes applied in both cases to recruit the participating citizens. The article closes with a discussion about key elements to keep in mind when implementing a bottom-up participative approach in the context of a Smart City.