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Olga Welinder
Postdoctoral fellow
![Olga Welinder. Photo](/sites/lusem.lu.se/files/styles/lu_personal_page_desktop/public/2024-05/Olga-Welinder-web-large.jpg.webp?itok=cla-QI1e)
Visualising and calculating the smart city : a dialogue perspective
Author
Summary, in English
Purpose: This study addresses the implications of smart city development paths (techno-centric and human-centric) by investigating the evolution of a city strategy, focusing on how different actors in a dialogue centred on strategic planning documents for Saint Petersburg, Russia, visualised the smart city and then made it calculable. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a case study based on a documentary analysis supported by ethnographic elements relying on the smart city conceptual proposals, the approved city strategy and the artifacts of expert discussions leading to the strategy implementation plan. Findings: Through the lens of dialogue theory, the authors show how government and non-government actors in different organisational settings devised techno-centric smart city calculations, which arose despite an initial human-centric vision. Research limitations/implications: While the case study allowed the study to illustrate the depth and richness of the context of the authoritarian Russian state where the role of citizens in public decision-making is rather limited, different and even contrasting results could be produced in other contexts. Practical implications: There is a gap between a smart city vision and its grounding in calculations. Thus, the human-centric elements require special attention, and the organisation of the dialogue on smart city strategy must enable plurality of voices besides those of government actors. Originality/value: The case suggests viewing the human-centric and techno-centric perspectives not as dichotomous, but rather emerging consecutively throughout the journey from an initial strategic vision to its implementation in the city's calculations.
Publishing year
2022-11-01
Language
English
Pages
644-664
Publication/Series
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management
Volume
34
Issue
5
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- Dialogue
- Russia
- Saint Petersburg
- Smart city
- Visualising and calculating
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1096-3367