FROM SMART CITY RHETORIC TO MEASUREMENT: VALIDATING CITIZEN-CENTRIC URBAN INNOVATION (CCUI) INDICATORS IN CHINA

Authors

  • Jun Lyu Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , School of Management Science and Engineering, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang City 550025, Guizhou Province, China
  • Hasniyati Hamzah Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Peter Aning Tedong Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Keywords:

Smart Cities (SC), Citizen-centric urban innovation assessment, Expert judgement, Indicators, China.

Abstract

Smart city research has produced numerous evaluation frameworks, yet most remain technology-led and offer limited means to assess whether smart city strategies enable citizens as active innovation actors. Although “citizen-centricity” is frequently promoted in policy discourse, it is rarely operationalised into measurable indicators suitable for city-scale benchmarking and governance improvement. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating a Citizen-Centric Urban Innovation (CCUI) indicator framework for Chinese smart cities. Drawing on the Unified Smart City Model (USCM) and a structured literature synthesis, an initial indicator set was refined through a two-round expert judgement process using median-based discriminant evaluation. The study confirms a final CCUI framework comprising 58 validated indicators across eight dimensions: smart architecture, governance, planning and management, data and knowledge, facilities, services, people, and environment. The validation results highlight that CCUI measurement should prioritise city-scale enabling conditions—service accessibility, usable digital infrastructure, urban data systems, citizen digital capability, and institutional responsiveness—rather than macro-level innovation prestige proxies. The framework provides a practical tool for assessing and guiding more inclusive and innovation-capable smart city development in China and beyond.

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Published

2026-06-30

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

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