Cities, where 60% of the world’s population lives, are particularly vulnerable to global warming. The environmental aspect is therefore an important dimension of sustainable smart cities, as is citizen participation. Based on the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) theory, we explore the idea that citizen participation in the smart city is largely conditioned by the environmental consequences and responsibilities they attribute to their behaviour. A survey was conducted among 1670 residents of six major French cities involved in a smart city approach. Based on a model test using the PLS-PM approach, the results, confirm the validity of VBN theory in the French smart city context. More specifically, pro-environmental personal norms positively influence residents’ intention to participate in the smart city. Biospheric and altruistic values promote an ecological vision of the world, which strengthens awareness of environmental consequences and a sense of responsibility, which in turn activates pro-environmental personal norms. In this way, we demonstrate the relevance of mobilising the VBN theory to understand citizen participation in the smart city. Citizen participation in the smart city is ultimately a pro-environmental behaviour in itself. We make suggestions on how to develop citizen participation by strengthening environmental awareness and responsibility.

中文翻译：

---

应用VBN理论理解居民参与智慧城市——以法国大都市为例


世界上 60% 的人口居住在城市，特别容易受到全球变暖的影响。因此，环境方面是可持续智慧城市的一个重要方面，公民参与也是如此。基于价值-信念-规范（VBN）理论，我们探讨了这样一种观点：公民参与智慧城市很大程度上取决于他们的行为所造成的环境后果和责任。对参与智慧城市方法的法国六个主要城市的 1670 名居民进行了一项调查。基于使用 PLS-PM 方法的模型测试，结果证实了 VBN 理论在法国智慧城市背景下的有效性。更具体地说，有利于环境的个人规范对居民参与智慧城市的意愿产生积极影响。生物圈和利他主义价值观促进了世界的生态愿景，从而增强了对环境后果的认识和责任感，进而激活了亲环境的个人规范。通过这种方式，我们证明了利用 VBN 理论来理解公民参与智慧城市的相关性。公民参与智慧城市最终本身就是一种环保行为。我们就如何通过加强环境意识和责任来发展公民参与提出建议。