Looking over the garden wall: Citizen Participation in Smart City Urban Living Labs

The rise of big data, high-tech infrastructures, sensors, and communication networks has transformed cities into hybrids of the physical and digital, addressing complex problems like climate change. To integrate citizens into smart city development, policymakers increasingly make use of Urban Living Labs (ULLs). Despite their growing popularity, our understanding of ULLs, their impact, and citizens' roles and experiences remains limited. Existing literature highlights the importance of citizens and local contexts in ULLs but lacks insights into citizens' perspectives. This research aims to bridge this gap by investigating factors and experiences that influence citizens' willingness to participate in ULLs. The central research question addressed is: What factors and experiences influence citizens’ willingness to participate in Urban Living Labs? To answer this, the study adopts concepts and measures from literature on citizen participation and social movements. Empirically, the research focuses on the Marineterrein Urban Living Lab (MALL) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, employing a mixed-methods design consisting of two phases: a survey and semi-structured interviews. The first phase involved a survey to assess the extent to which civic engagement and pro-environmental behaviour influence citizens' willingness to participate in ULLs. Findings indicated that while high civic engagement showed only a marginally significant effect on willingness to participate, pro-environmental behaviour showed to be a positive predictor of future participation. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six local residents who had participated in one or more ULL activities. Participants expressed a strong perceived efficacy of ULLs but pointed out a lack of transparency regarding practitioners and projects. They also reported a lack of ownership over the ULL initiatives and highlighted the concept of co-organizing as a mode of participation that could enhance ownership and increase awareness among less-engaged citizens. These findings contribute to closing the existing research gap in ULL literature by emphasising citizens' experiences and providing insights into who is more likely to participate. Furthermore, the study introduces the notion of co-organizing as a new mode of participation, enriching the existing framework on citizen participation in ULLs. This research underscores the importance of transparency and ownership in fostering citizen participation and offers practical implications for policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance civic engagement in smart city initiatives.