Phenotropic Interaction in Smart Cities

Modern cities strive to achieve a balanced interplay between several stakeholders, forming complex sociotechnical systems. The concept of human smart city (HSC) emerged to emphasize and promote citizen-centric development, active citizen engagement, and collaborations between stakeholders. To effectively involve citizens in the development process of HSCs, digital points of contact are essential. These interfaces facilitate exchanges between the city and its residents, offering opportunities for participation. Notably, digital platforms enable broader citizen engagement, complementing traditional collaborative events and experiments. In this chapter, two projects applying the principles of phenotropic interaction in the context of HSC are presented. The first, Jingle Jungle Maps, focuses on the estimation of urban sounds through crowdsourced data, serving as an indirect communication channel between citizens and the city. The second, Streetwise, employs street-level imagery to estimate a map of citizens’ perceptions of different city areas. These citizen–city phenotropic interfaces enhance understanding of citizens’ needs, desires, and perceptions of the urban environment, allowing for improved adaptation of the city and prediction of issues based on latent city data. The chapter concludes by observing that by embracing phenotropic design principles, cities can establish robust, flexible, and citizen-centered digital interfaces, fostering more inclusive and responsive development.