Figure 9.7: Living Labs that are part of the European Network of living labs

Digital tools can enable inclusion and community-building among elderly population groups who often miss out on the benefits of digitalization

digital games in Vancouver, where the participation of older citizens in a citywide virtual bowling tournament allowed them to partake in activities which they would other wise not be able to join. Crucially, the digital game helped them build new social relations that continued after the tournament.141 Another example of digitally-enabled civic engagement can be found in Berlin, where the grassroots GoVolunteer app facilitates participation in civic and social projects by listing over 1,800 volunteering opportunities.142

9.5.3. Community technology making Public participation can also take the form of “community technology making,” which involves residents creating their own digital or technological solutions to urban challenges. This concept covers a range of formats, including hackerspaces, makerlabs, hardware incubators and fixer collectives, all of which have in common the aspiration that better urban technologies and environments can be built by their users.143 One example is Richmond MakerLabs in London, which describes itself as an inclusive “community workshop,” and offers access to various technologies, including electronics, 3D printing and laser cutting.144 “Urban living lab” is an umbrella term used for projects that seek to involve citizens in creating tools and applications. A review of urban living labs in four European cities identified several ways in which participating citizens got involved, including measuring local environmental data, testing smart products and developing technological devices to improve local ser vices.145 The European Network of Living Labs is the largest partnership of such urban labs and has extend its network globally (see figure 9.7). The study, however, identified as a relative weakness the exclusion of the participants from the wider governance of the smart city initiatives with which the living labs are associated.

A study of civic hackathons in European cities found that, unlike conventional hackathons which mainly cater to highskilled software developers, these civic versions tend to include a demographically and socially more diverse set of local participants.146 The main purpose of the hackathons studied was to involve citizens in analysing open data as a basis for informing how their neighbourhoods could be improved.

The question of who gets involved not just in hackathons, but also in other forms of shared technology making is critical, since too often they tend to attract predominantly male participants with pre-existing technical knowledge.147 In response, some organizers actively seek to include a diverse range of participants, thereby promoting a greater equality of gender, race and class. This also opens up opportunities for alternative visions for, and approaches to, technology making in and hacking of the smart city.

Figure 9.7: Living Labs that are part of the European Network of living labs

Source: Battistoni et al, 2022.