Towards Citizen-Centric Smart Cities: A Unified Participatory Platform Informed by the Perspectives of Local Elected Officials in the Western Sector of Athens, Greece

In recent years, there has been a growing research and policy interest in the transformation of cities into smart cities and the role that citizen participation plays in this process. Despite the development of digital tools and applications, active citizen engagement remains a significant challenge, particularly within the Greek context, which presents unique specificities regarding the implementation of participatory processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of affairs concerning the use of digital media as tools to support participatory processes for the shaping of smart cities, as well as the prospects they create. This study adopts an exploratory qualitative case-study approach to examine how elected municipal officials perceive citizen participation, digital transformation, and related institutional, technological, educational, and social barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 elected officials—mayors and deputy mayors—from seven municipalities in the Western Sector of Athens, Greece, and the data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach. The findings indicate that the interviewed officials perceived citizen participation as constrained by fragmented information and communication channels, limited civic awareness and digital skills, accessibility barriers, uneven municipal digital capacity, and insufficiently structured participatory mechanisms. They also highlighted the need for stronger coordination, education, evaluation, and knowledge exchange across municipal initiatives. Building on these context-specific findings, together with insights from the broader literature, this paper proposes the creation of a unified national platform for Greek smart cities, which will function as a mechanism for information, education, participation, evaluation, and knowledge exchange. The proposed platform seeks to enhance participatory governance, promote the development of civic awareness and critical thinking, and support the dissemination of best practices among Greek municipalities. The findings of this exploratory case study suggest that the transition of Greek cities into citizen-centric smart cities presupposes integrated strategic approaches that combine technological innovation with education, participation, and stakeholder collaboration.