Actors in smart cities

The This paper explores the human side of smart cities. Currently Smart Cities is a term with a very strong technological connotation, and in Smart 360 this is very clear. However we also know that cities are made for the people and by the people that exist in them. In this context in this paper we analyse what are the types of actors that exist in the Smart Cities. We start the analysis by considering what actors exist in the current Knowledge Economy. After we apply the model we consider correct to the Smart Cities. We conclude that the actors that exist in the Knowledge Economy may be divided in four categories: Composers, Owners / Administrators, Performers and Costumers / Citizens. All the four types of actors are essential to the Smart City: Performers make and provide the goods and services, created by Composers, in organizations lead by Owners and Administrators and for the satisfaction of Costumers and Citizens. Smart Cities only exist and survive, all these types of persons work together in successful cooperation. The analysis is important because we need to complement the traditional model which used consumers, producers and employers, with this one that is much more realistic. The paper is limited because we only do a conceptual study and provide few empirical data. Further studies should apply the model in practice. However our model is original, and it has implications for researchers because it offers new grounds of analysis and it also has implications for practitioners and for the society because it provides a useful and updated model of thought.