Smart city governance in Mexico: reflections from a case study
| Autor | Jesus Manuel Niebla Zatarain/Nora del Carmen Osuna Millán |
| Cargo | Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, México/Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México |
| Páginas | 254-273 |
Smart city governance in Mexico:
reections from a case study
Governança de cidades inteligentes no México:
reexões de um estudo de caso
Jesús Manuel Niebla Zatarain*
Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, México
Nora del Carmen Osuna Millán**
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México
1. Introdução
Major cities around the world are considering new models of governance
to ensure the delivery public services and to enhance citizen cooperation.
Among the most relevant proposals, the adoption of digital platforms
through ubiquitous technology stands out, known as smart cities. Here,
citizen interaction is addressed from an indirect interaction with these de-
vices whose main task is to gather personal data of citizens and through
this develop particularized services. The impact of this technological ap-
proach also benefits the development of public policies. By personalized
interaction with citizens, the public sector would be able to properly detect
the most important needs of determined social areas and, consequently,
develop the proper strategy to fulfil such needs.
Nonetheless, the particularization of services intended by this ap-
proach relies in the massive acquisition of personal data, which may lead
* Professor and researcher, Research and Postgraduate Studies Office, Autonomous University
of Sinaloa, Mazatlan, Mexico. Member of the National Research System of Mexico (SNI). Email:
j.niebla@uas.edu.mx.
** Professor and researcher, Professional Development and University Linkage Office, Autono-
mous University of Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico. Member of the National Research System
of Mexico (SNI). Email: nora.osuna@uabc.edu.mx.
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Direito, Estado e Sociedade n. 58 jan/jun 2021
to law related scenarios. This requires an interdisciplinary approach where
governance through ubiquitous technology operates through the lawful
process of personal data. From a technical perspective, the success of this
approach depends on the characteristics of the urban area where it will
operate. As part of this, smart city projects located in Europe and North
America present different results to those located in underdeveloped areas
such as Latin America or certain areas in Asia. To properly understand
this scenario, it will be addressed from the position of one of the most
influential nations in Latin America: Mexico. This country holds a plant to
transform its capital, Mexico City, into a smart urban area and it has since,
developed strategies that cover both technical and legal requirements. This
will present how digital governance strategies are developed ensuring law
compliant management of personal data in smart cities.
2. Dening the scenario: Smart cities
In 2018, over 55% of the world’s population lived in cities1. This has raised
a series of complex challenges that traditional governmental approaches
have been unable to achieve. Here, several urban variables such as wealth,
high quality services along with sustainability need to converge into a bal-
anced scheme in order to provide an adequate standard of living. Addition-
ally, cities are becoming multicultural centres where citizens with diverse
social, economic, and religious backgrounds converge in harmony2. This
has led to the widely accepted notion that cities should no longer oper-
ate as isolated modules; on the contrary, they ought to function as highly
integrated structures that represent all sectors of society and their needs3.
In this scenario, smart cities emerge as a proposal capable to achieve both
technical and social objectives.
One of the most relevant proposals to address this is the adoption
of the smart city urban approach, which includes four equally important
components: industry, education, participation, and technical infrastruc-
ture4. This has been expanded to include smart economy, smart mobility,
1 UNITED NATIONS, 2018.
2 MEIJER; RODRÍGUEZ BOLÍVAR, 2016.
3 MOSS KANTER; LITOW, 2009.
4 GIFFINGER; FERTNER; KRAMAR; MEIJERS, 2007.
Smart city governance in Mexico:
reflections from a case study
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