Informating Smart Cities Governance? Let Us First Understand the Atoms!

Abstract

This paper discusses the atomic factors that make up governance with a focus on Smart Cities informatability. The guiding question is whether or not, or how, respectively, governance can be informated; informatization is defined as the ability of systems to be steered/controlled/created from within the digital dimension by means of software tools and applications. The disciplinary theories of Downs (public choice theory), Jellinek (Statuslehre), and Hohfeld (fundamental legal conceptions) are confronted with the abilities of modern information and communication technology in the quest to apply them for informatization of governance. It is found that the atomic components of governance identified by these theories cannot be directly informated; there is however indication for their indirect informatability, which is discussed further. The vision of a society in which governance is informated is presented after the discussion to aid in understanding of the context, its potentials, and the relevance of basic research for sustainable governance evolution.