‘If I could go to one place’: examining city-based information practices from the perspective of city residents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31iConf64199Keywords:
City government, Public engagement, Open data portals, Information hubsAbstract
Introduction. This paper examines information as an exchange between city government and city residents. The goal is to better understand residents’ perceptions of interacting with city government and to describe their suggestions for improvement, including centralised information hubs.
Method. A qualitative study with 30 city residents in Austin, Texas, U.S.A. includes semi-structured interviews and a member check focus group to explore themes from the information studies and urban studies literature.
Analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the interview data.
Results. Participants express frustration with existing channels for engaging with city government and cite a lack of access to information as a barrier. Participants do not mention open data portals, which cities invest in but are not accessible to those who lack data analysis skills. Participants report that they wish they could go to one place to get information about local issues.
Conclusion(s). Participants suggest centralised information hubs as mechanisms that could improve information exchange between city government and residents. Relatedly, investment in open data portals has not solved the problem of resident engagement in local government; indeed, residents do not even bring up the topic. Combining insights from information studies and urban studies can help to address this gap.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Chelsea E. McCullough , Kenneth R. Fleischmann
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
