LAUSR

Abstract ‘Smart’ governance in the ‘smart’ era is not just about adopting technology but more concerned with obtaining effective governance processes and achieving improved urban outcomes through the innovative use of technologies. In this viewpoint, I argue for the urgency and need for a transformative perspective on ICT-facilitated city governance that includes smart urban governance as a context-based, sociotechnical way of governing cities. I present three reasons: 1) problems with the technocratic, corporate-led ‘smart’ governance require a smart urban governance; 2) the theoretical focal points of smart urban governance show its transformation potential in handling urban challenges; and 3) brief descriptions of two illustrative cases demonstrate the practical capabilities of smart urban governance. Based on these arguments, I highly recommend that researchers and practitioners use smart urban governance to govern the most pressing urban challenges by starting with the urban issue at hand, promoting demand-driven governance modes, and shaping technological intelligence more socially, given the context-specificities.