Profiling Citizens in the Smart City: A Quantitative Study in Wallonia

Schelings, Clémentine; Defays, Aurore; Elsen, Catherine

doi:10.3390/smartcities6040098

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Profiling Citizens in the Smart City: A Quantitative Study in Wallonia

Schelings, Clémentine; Defays, Aurore; Elsen, Catherine

2023 • In Smart Cities, 6 (4), p. 2125 - 2149

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/308601

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10.3390/smartcities6040098

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Keywords :

citizen profiling; cluster analysis; persona; smart city; survey

Abstract :

[en] Based on the assumption that citizens can participate in smart city development, this paper aims to capture the diversity of their profiles and their positioning towards smart city dynamics. The article starts with a literature review of some models of citizens to better understand how they could be portrayed in the smart city era. Considering that there is no “general citizen” and that usual typologies remain restrictive, we construct tailor-made personas, i.e., fictitious profiles based on real data. To this end, we present the results of a large-scale survey distributed to highly educated Walloon people in the framework of a general public exhibition. The profiling focuses on three aspects: (1) perception of smart city dimensions, (2) intended behavior regarding smart city solutions, and (3) favorite participatory methods. The collected answers were first analyzed with descriptive and nonparametric statistics, then classified with a k-means cluster analysis. The main results are five personas, which highlight the coexistence of different citizen groups that think and behave in a specific way. This process of profiling citizens’ priorities, behaviors, and participatory preferences can help professional designers and local governments to consider various citizens’ perspectives in the design of future smart solutions and participatory processes.

Disciplines :

Architecture

Author, co-author :

Schelings, Clémentine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > LEMA (Local environment management and analysis)

Defays, Aurore ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Ergonomie et intervention au travail

Elsen, Catherine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > Composition architecturale

Language :

English

Title :

Profiling Citizens in the Smart City: A Quantitative Study in Wallonia

Publication date :

August 2023

Journal title :

Smart Cities

eISSN :

2624-6511

Publisher :

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

2125 - 2149

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/6/4/98/pdf

Funders :

ERDF - European Regional Development Fund [BE]
Walloon region [BE]

Funding text :

This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Walloon Region under Grant number 224577-952620.This research is part of the “Wal-e-Cities” project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Walloon region. The authors would like to thank the funding authorities, as well as all who contributed to this research, in particular the organizers and the visitors surveyed in the context of the exhibition “I will be 20 in 2030”.

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