Toward E-Deliberation 2.0

Abstract

This chapter presents how e-deliberation can become a major tool to increase citizens’ participation in the decision-making process consequently enhancing the democratic process. We present a definition of e-deliberation and its main components along with a state of the art of relevant systems and their main operational characteristics. We argue that smart cities need “smart citizens” which is a willing subject in digitally shaped urban governance, infrastructure, and services. At the end, the participation of smart citizens to e-participation platforms (such as e-deliberation, e-voting, e-comment, etc.) raises an opportunity for citizens to get involved in the political and administrative process. Finally, the architecture and basic building blocks of a generic e-deliberation system (PODS) are presented.