Smart Participation in Unequal Contexts: A Theoretical Approach for Smart Urban Governance

This research used investigated citizen participation in a smart urban governance case in Brazil. The chosen case is a digital participatory budget program in a city of high socioeconomic contrast. A theoretical approach for analyzing smart governance cases was constructed, based on the literature, and applied to the case study. After the analysis of the case, the theoretical approach was revisited and improved, as the results revealed a new perspective over the influence of social exclusion in the smart governance theoretical model. The results of the research showed the importance of looking at the vulnerable population in a smart urban governance arrangement, as it revealed a different level of participation from the official narrative.