Smart city innovation through citizens inclusion

As cities around the globe adopt digital transformation to tackle complex urban challenges, the significance of citizen participation in Smart City initiatives has increased considerably. While much of the existing literature has focused on technological efficiency, this study explores how inclusive, participatory governance is implemented through digital platforms. It examines how citizens contribute to Smart City projects and how they affect urban governance systems’ value, legitimacy, and adaptability.This research employs a comparative case study methodology, analysing two Southeast Asian cities, Bangkok and Singapore, through a mixed-methodsapproach. The study utilises platform usage data, policy analysis, and qualitative interviews supported by two peer-reviewed publications. The conceptual frameworkintegrates Design Thinking and Systems Thinking to encompass both user experience and institutional integration in the context of participatory Smart City initiatives systems. The findings indicate the existence of two distinct models of citizen involvement. In Bangkok, the Traffy Fondue platform is an example of a bottom-upstrategy that focuses on transparency, open data, and direct feedback from citizens. In contrast, Singapore’s TraceTogether platform represents a top-down approachprioritising backend data integration, privacy regulations, and centralised efficiency. Both cities achieve effective participation, yet they employ different strategies thatreflect their unique governance structures, civic cultures, and policy environments. The study reframes participation as a systemic process within digital and institutional infrastructures. It shows that successful participation in Smart Cities depends on participatory mechanisms aligning with local governance, trust, and inclusivity objectives. Additionally, this research offers a framework for designing adaptive, citizen-centric Smart City platforms based on technological and policy foundations considerations.