This essay explores the emergence of a supposed smart city paradigm shift, in which the new paradigm would be focused on solving social problems, in alternative to the previous, which concentrates on technology and economic growth. However, both paradigms have shortcomings by representing urbanizations which are entrenched with the neoliberal ideology and its discontents. In contrast, the right to the smart city is interpreted as an extension of the new paradigm, considering technology as a tool to achieve citizens' needs and employing participatory processes, although incorporating a social justice element, thus, representing the establishment of an authentic paradigm shift. Highlighting the underlying challenges of actually existing smart cities, this essay proposes a theoretical framework founded on social justice, assembling democratic participation, redirecting outcomes to the most pressing causes and redistributing benefits to particular - marginalised and excluded, instead of generic, citizens. Therefore, it suggests a radical change of perspective in smart city studies, decentralising theory through a post-colonial and subaltern lens.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
