Selling dreams or solving problems? The evolution of the smart city narrative on Twitter

• An analysis of the smart city narrative from 43,000+ geo-tagged historical tweets. • Smart city narrative on Twitter shows a distinct lifecycle, peaking around 2017. • The narrative shifted from a technology focus to social and governance aspects. • The smart city concept is not uniform, as regional priorities differ globally. • A global tension persists between tech-led promises and public privacy concerns. This paper provides a large-scale empirical analysis of the popularity, regional differences, and evolving narratives on smart cities on Twitter/X, tracking how the concept was communicated and reinterpreted from 2011 to 2022. Utilising over 43,000 geo-tagged English language tweets, this study offers data-driven insights into narratives across four defined regional groups: Europe, the US, India, and another category comprising a diverse set of other regions worldwide. Through topic modelling, four dominant themes were identified: “Events and Activities,” “Technology and Solutions,” “Citizens and Community,” and “Transportation and Mobility.” Our analysis reveals that the concept of the smart city is not uniform; instead, it is interpreted through distinct regional perspectives, with Europe emphasising social equity, the US focusing on collaborative governance, and India prioritising national infrastructure projects. Three main findings emerged: first, a surge in tweets over a few years peaking in 2017, followed by a rapid decline; second, a narrative shift from technology and innovation to broader social, economic, and governance aspects. This transition suggests that while explicit mentions of “smart city” have decreased overall, the underlying principles may have become integrated into broader urban policy agendas and sustainable development strategies. Thirdly, regional differences in the evolution of smart city narratives were observed among Europe, North America, and India. Despite these differences, a common tension exists across all regions between the promise of technological solutions and public concerns related to citizen participation, privacy, and equitable outcomes. These findings lend support to broader claims within the research literature regarding shifts in the focus of smart city initiatives and policies. The findings show that the smart city narrative has moved beyond a technology-centric focus to a more holistic and citizen-centred approach, but with regional differences.