Multi-stakeholder innovation in smart city discourse : quadruple helix-thinking in the age of ‘platforms’

The predominant rhetoric in smart city debates puts the emphasis on collaboration. Conceptualizing, designing, implementing, validating, and evaluating solutions to urban challenges with all relevant stakeholders around the table are perceived as the optimal modus operandi in these perspectives. But how does this vision relate to current practices in cities? This paper deals with the observed trend toward more multi-stakeholder collaboration and the resulting complex value networks these stakeholders need to navigate. This is exemplified in what has been called the “platformization” of the urban space by “urban service platforms” (e.g., Uber, AirBnB) as well as in so-called “quadruple helix” approaches to urban innovation. Particularly for (local) government, finding a role in these complex networks has proven challenging. This paper explores the main challenges concerning multi-stakeholder innovation and opportunities related to this topic

A visual exploration workflow as enabler for the exploitation of Linked Open Data

Abstract. Semantically annotating and interlinking Open Data results in Linked Open Data which concisely and unambiguously describes a knowledge domain. However, the uptake of the Linked Data depends on its usefulness to non-Semantic Web experts. Failing to support data consumers to understand the added-value of Linked Data and possible exploitation opportunities could inhibit its diffusion. In this paper, we propose an interactive visual workflow for discovering and ex-ploring Linked Open Data. We implemented the workflow considering academic library metadata and carried out a qualitative evaluation. We assessed the work-flow’s potential impact on data consumers which bridges the offer: published Linked Open Data; and the demand as requests for: (i) higher quality data; and (ii) more applications that re-use data. More than 70 % of the 34 test users agreed that the workflow fulfills its goal: it facilitates non-Semantic Web experts to un-derstand the potential of Linked Open Data.

Monitoring movement in the smart city : opportunities and challenges of measuring urban bustle

One of the promises of the smart city concept is using real-time data to enhance policy making. In practice, such promises can turn out to be either very limited in what is actually possible or quickly trigger dystopian scenarios of tracking and monitoring. Today, many cities around the world already measure forms of urban bustle, i.e. how busy it is during specific periods of time. They do this for all kinds of purposes like optimising mobility flows, attracting tourism, monitoring safety during events or stimulating the local economy, and they employ divergent technologies: from analogue counting, over surveys, to more advanced near real-time tracking using mobile operator data. This fragmentation of approaches to measuring urban bustle creates some challenges for cities related to privacy, vendor lock-in, comparability of data, data quality and accuracy, historical and predictive analysis of data and so on. To tackle these challenges and formulate a standardised approach to measuring urban bustle, the thirteen largest cities in Flanders (Belgium), together with local technology vendors, co-created a “definition manual”; a document outlining indicators and relevant technologies for measuring urban bustle, as well as shared profile descriptions of residents and visitors of the city. This paper outlines the process and presents the results, an agreed-upon framework of standard profiles and indicators, which are useful to academics, public servants and technology companies involved in this topic

"Technology readiness and acceptance model" as a predictor for the use intention of data standards in smart cities

Taking the region of Flanders in Belgium as a case study, this article reflects on how smart cities initiated a grassroots initiative on data interoperability. We observe that cities are struggling due to the fragmentation of data and services across different governmental levels. This may cause frustrations in the everyday life of citizens as they expect a coherent user experience. Our research question considers the relationship between individual characteristics of decision makers and their intention to use data standards. We identified criteria for implementing data standards in the public sector by analysing the factors that affect the adoption of data governance, based on the Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM), by conducting an online survey (n = 205). Results indicate that respondents who score high on innovativeness have a higher intention to use data standards. However, we conclude that personality characteristics as described in the TRAM-model are not significant predictors of the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of data standards. Therefore, we suggest exploring the effects of network governance and organisational impediments to speed-up the adoption of open standards and raise interoperability in complex ecosystems