Abstract:

What kind of urban digital governance are scholars hoping for? What do scholars fear it might become? Through focus groups and literature review, this paper collects and analyzes scholars' hopes and fears for urban digital governance. They hope that urban digital governance could be a symphony of government, market and society rather than a solo of government itself, benefit vulnerable groups, be developed upon people's actual needs, keep a balance between technology and human beings, enhance integrity and synergy, be sustainable, agile, adaptive, and transparent. Scholars fear that urban digital governance could produce few real impacts, collect data excessively at the sacrifice of people’s privacy, deprive people of the right to make their own choices, and strengthen an outdated model and institution of governance. These hopes and fears reflect academia’s thoughts on the relationship between technology, institutions, and people as well as its concerns about the effects and impact of urban digital governance.

Key words: urban, digital governance, hopes, fears