Strengthening the accountability of independent regulatory agencies: From performance back to democracy

The autonomy of independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) raises concerns about how to keep them accountable. Remarkably, the process of Europeanisation has led to the emergence of a multilevel regulatory system linking IRAs to national and supranational actors but, on the other side, this process has influenced the capacity to make IRAs accountable. The literature about the accountability deficit of IRAs has tried to address this question, but the interplay between delegation, \u2018multi-levelisation\u2019 and accountability has not been thoroughly investigated yet. Notably, theoretical analysis of IRAs\u2019 accountability in multilevel regulatory environments is still scarce. This article is aimed at contributing to the debate by pointing out that any theoretical discussion about the accountability of IRAs should be framed in normative terms and, precisely, should reconsider a crucial dimension neglected so far, that is, the goals accountability is expected to achieve. The article, in fact, argues that in multilevel regulatory environments the impact of devices adopted to improve the accountability of IRAs is generally weakened by the presence of a \u2018neutral\u2019 idea of accountability, which dilutes its power. The only way to strengthen the effect of accountability is to bring politics and democratic values back into the regulatory process

Defining and assessing the transformational nature of smart city governance: Insights from four European cases

Smart cities are a new approach to urban development based on the extensive use of information and communication technologies and on the promotion of environmental sustainability, economic development and innovation. The article is aimed at discussing whether the adoption of a smart city approach entails the transformation of existing institutional structures and administrative practices. To this end, four cases of European smart cities are analysed: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Turin and Vienna. The article describes their models of governance, investigates the level of transformation that occurred in their governmental structures, outlines the main drawbacks and identifies possible connections with the emergent paradigm of the New Public Governance

Co-production for innovation: the urban living lab experience

Urban Living Labs (ULLs) are public spaces where local authorities engage citizens to develop innovative urban services. Their strength and popularity stem from a methodology based on open innovation, experimentation, and citizen engagement. Although the ULL methodology is supposed to largely adopt a co-production approach, connections between the two have not yet been thoroughly investigated. The paper seeks to fill this gap by examining through a qualitative analysis three experiences of ULLs made in Amsterdam, Boston and Turin. Specifically, the paper aims to assess whether ULLs can be really conceptualised as a form of co-production and, if so, which elements characterised them as innovative in comparison to \u2018mainstreaming\u2019 co-production; Then it analyses benefits and drawbacks related to their implementation

Mainstreaming gender equality in smart cities: Theoretical, methodological and empirical challenges

The debate on local governance and urban innovation has recently gained impetus due to the diffusion of the smart city approach. A city can be defined \u2018smart\u2019 if it adopts an innovative collaborative governance style to design urban policies aimed at improving citizens\u2019 quality of life and at promoting environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Notwithstanding the fact that civic participation and inclusion should be distinctive characteristics of smart cities, gender inequalities are often disregarded both by academic literature and in the implementation of smart strategies. The paper is aimed at filling this gap by addressing three issues. Starting from a systematic analysis of literature the paper investigates whether, where, how and why gender discriminations could emerge in a smart city. Second, it proposes a set of tools to mainstream gender in smart city governance and possible areas of intervention to reduce gender inequalities in smart cities. Third it tries to identify main theoretical, methodological, and empirical challenges for local administrators that hamper the implementation of gender equality strategies in smart cities

The democratic anchorage of governance networks in smart cities: an empirical assessment

The paper addresses the problem of democratic legitimacy of smart cities as a system of governance networks. Using data collected during a 2-year research project, such as the qualitative analysis of reports and documents and semi-structured interviews with key informants, the paper elaborates an Index of Democratic Smart Governance and applies it to four European smart cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Turin, and Vienna. Results show that smart cities are anchored in principles of democratic representation, but the link between political institutions and the general public is not entirely developed due to the lack of mechanisms truly fostering citizens\u2019 participation and voicing