Stories of control: Digitalization narratives in smart city strategy papers of German municipalities

Abstract

Most definitions of smart cities refer to improving citizens' quality of life through the use of digital technology in urban areas. This article aims to provide a better understanding of the intentions that guide cities with different structural characteristics (city size, centrality, or socioeconomic growth) in the planning and implementation of digitalization measures with regard to the digitalization's impact on quality of life of citizens. Using a mixed-methods approach, digitalization narratives in the smart city strategy documents of 12 German cities are examined using the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) and the analytical lens of the capability approach. Six distinct digitalization narratives in three public problem areas are identified in the Smart City Strategies, with particular attention being paid to the characterization of citizens and the narrated influence of digitalization on their capabilities. Evaluating the frequency and distribution of narrative-use allows the identification of narrative profiles that are examined for differences and similarities using cluster analysis. To explore the influence of the local context on the composition of narrative profiles and clusters, the relationship with urban structural characteristics is examined, and other potential influences are discussed.