Smart Cities at Play: Lived Experiences, Emerging Forms of Playfulness, and Problems of Participation

In recent years, the notion of smart cities has become the focus of a growing body of research. To date, much of this attention has revolved around the technical aspect, with related concerns including the creation and implementation of suitable smart city technologies. What is notably missing from these discussions, however, is a consideration of the lived experience of supposedly 'smart spaces' and the extent to which physical and digital environments are currently producing new forms of play and playfulness that can be contextualized within this field. With this in mind, the purpose of our workshop is as follows. First, to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to engage with these issues that often remain hidden when discussions solely focus on technology. Second, to develop a draft research agenda for challenges that will serve as a primer for future studies examining the topic.