oa Summaries

This article explores the interrelation between privacy concerns and participation needs with citizens of the smart city Antwerp. This research makes use of the privacy framework by Van Zoonen (2016) to frame five applications of the smart city Antwerp, differing by use of data (personal-impersonal) and purpose (service-surveillance). The findings show that respondents express the need for more information about the concept, its applications and privacy consequences. The possibility to evaluate applications and give feedback is generally seen as an important way of participation, whereas almost none declare to feel motivated to be involved in the development of new smart city applications. Information and consultation needs are higher in case of privacy sensitive smart city applications. These perspectives are of use to smart city governments and developers to adapt participation initiatives to citizens’ needs.