The role of digital citizen participation in the development of smart cities in Serbia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo260006CKeywords:
citizens, digital participation, innovation, smart cities, SerbiaAbstract
This paper investigates the relationship between digital citizen participation and the development of smart cities in Serbia’s major urban centers. The study aims to determine how core forms of digital engagement - such as social network activity, participation in online forums, and the use of mobile applications - affect key dimensions of smart city advancement, including digital infrastructure, smart governance, and service innovation. Quantitative data were collected from 332 respondents in five cities using a structured online questionnaire. Statistical analysis incorporated descriptive methods, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and multiple regression. Results indicate strong, statistically significant associations between digital engagement and all major smart city dimensions, especially among respondents from Belgrade and Novi Sad. The identification of three distinct clusters also reveals considerable regional disparities in digital maturity and smart city adoption. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted policies and ongoing educational programs to foster inclusive and sustainable smart urban transformation across Serbia.
Downloads
References
Albino, V., Berardi, U., & Dangelico, R. M. (2015). Smart cities: Definitions, dimensions, performance, and initiatives. Journal of Urban Technology, 22(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2014.942092
Almulhim, A. I., & Yigitcanlar, T. (2025). Understanding smart governance of sustainable cities: A review and multidimensional framework. Smart Cities, 8(4), 113. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities8040113
Angelidou, M. (2017). The role of smart city characteristics in the plans of fifteen cities. Journal of Urban Technology, 24(4), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2017.1348880
Bastos, D., Fernández-Caballero, A., Pereira, A., & Rocha, N. P. (2022). Smart city applications to promote citizen participation in city management and governance: A systematic review. Informatics, 9(4), 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics9040089
Batty, M., Axhausen, K. W., Giannotti, F., et al. (2012). Smart cities of the future. European Physical Journal Special Topics, 214(1), 481–518. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2012-01703-3
Bolesnikov, M., Silić, M., Silić, D., Dumnić, B., Ćulibrk, J., Petrović, M., & Gajić, T. (2024). Innovative transitions: Exploring demand for smart city development in Novi Sad as a European Capital of Culture. Information, 15(11), 730. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15110730
Borowczak, A., Czerlinski, M., Kozlowska, P., Krupnik, S., Ledzion, B., Zawieska, J., & Kaczorowski, J. (2020). Evaluation of the implementation of the smart city concept in Visegrad Group countries (Final report, Vol. 4).
Caragliu, A., Del Bo, C., & Nijkamp, P. (2011). Smart cities in Europe. Journal of Urban Technology, 18(2), 65–82.
Fehér, K. (2020). Smart citizenship in smart cities: A multidimensional concept of participatory governance. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.02910
Giffinger, R., Fertner, C., Kramar, H., Kalasek, R., Pichler-Milanović, N., & Meijers, E. (2007). Smart cities: Ranking of European medium-sized cities (Final report).
Hansen, M. M., & Dahiya, B. (2025). Traffy Fondue: A smart city citizen engagement. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 7, 1491621. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2025.1491621
Hollands, R. G. (2015). Critical interventions into the corporate smart city. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsu011
Kumar, D. (2024). Actual practices of citizen participation in smart cities. Orașe Inteligente și Dezvoltare Regională, 8(2), 19–30. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1223087
Leclercq, E., & Rijshouwer, E. (2022). Right to the smart city: Towards digital citizenship. Urban Transformations, 4(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-022-00030-y
Loe, M. R., Shrestha, S., & Ertelt, S. M. (n.d.). Smartwashing mobility: Conceptualising the role of smart imaginaries in urban governance. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5518306
Margherita, E. G., Esposito, G., Escobar, S. D., & Crutzen, N. (2021). Exploring the smart city adoption process: Evidence from the Belgian urban context. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2101.05670
Milošević, M. R., Milošević, D. M., Stević, D. M., & Stanojević, A. D. (2019). Smart city: Modeling key indicators in Serbia using IT2FS. Sustainability, 11(13), 3536. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133536
Mora, L., Bolici, R., & Deakin, M. (2019). The first two decades of smart city research: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Urban Technology, 26(2), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2017.1285123
Nam, T., & Pardo, T. A. (2011). Smart city as urban innovation: Focusing on management, policy, and context. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (pp. 185–194). https://doi.org/10.1145/2072069.2072100
Ouyang, Y., & Bai, X. (2025). Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment: A case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident. Frontiers in Built Environment, 10, 1523576. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2024.1523576
Obradović, D., Mladenović, V., & Stamenković, S. (2025). Examining user attitudes towards electronic and mobile banking applications in Serbia. BizInfo Blace, 16(2), 117-124. https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo250024O
Pavlović, A. S. (2023). Perspektive razvoja pametnih gradova u Srbiji [Perspectives of the development of smart cities in Serbia]. Ecologica, 30(110), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.18485/ecologica.2023.30.110.14
Tan, S. Y., & Taeihagh, A. (2020). Smart city governance in developing countries: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 12(3), 899. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030899
Vasilić, M. (2018). Operationalization of the “smart city” concept on the example of Serbia. Sociologija, 60(2), 518–537. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1802518V
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 BizInfo Blace
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
