Purpose: Against the background of the I50 paradigm, this paper queries in what ways blockchain and blockchain-based applications deployed in the smart city context facilitate the integration of the I50 paradigm in smart urban contexts.Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods approach is applied. First, by means of desk research and thematic literature review, a conceptual model integrating the I50 paradigm, smart city and blockchain-based solutions is built. Second, science mapping bibliometric analysis (SciMat) based on keywords’ co-occurrence is applied to a sample of 491 research articles to identify key domains of blockchain-based applications’ use in smart city. Third, a semi-systematic literature review complements insights gained through SciMat. Fourth, the findings are interpreted through the precepts of the conceptual model devised earlier.Findings: The key blockchain-based applications in smart cities pertain to two domains, i.e. the foundational, service facilitation-oriented domain, including security (and safety), networks, computing, resource management and the service delivery-oriented domain, including mobility, energy and healthcare. Blockchain serves as the key building block for applications developed to deliver functions specific to each of the thus identified domains. A substantial layering of blockchain-based tools and applications is necessary to advance from the less to the more complex functional domains of the smart city.Originality/value: At the conceptual level, the intricacies of the (making of the) I50 paradigm are discussed and a case for I50 – smart city – blockchain nexus is made. Easton’s input–output model as well as constructivism is referenced. At the empirical level, the key major domains of blockchain-based applications are discussed; those that bear the prospect of integrating the I50 paradigm in the smart city are highlighted. At the methodological level, a strategic move is made aimed at restoring the literature review’s role as subservient to the key line of exploration, to justify and ultimately support it, rather than to showcase the literature review as the ultimate purpose for itself.

Smart cities can be defined as a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient through the use of ICT innovations for the benefit of their citizens and business (European Commission, 2022). This implies that smart cities are ecosystems where each actor, thanks to new technological solutions, can contribute to the good of the community by nudging a series of behaviors aimed at social rather than individual wellbeing. Nudging can improve citizens’ engagement in the smart governance decision-making process and influence their behavior in smart cities. There is a similarity between nudges and smart cities as they both aim to offer an optimal lifestyle as well as a sustainable and healthier one. Thus, the purpose of this study is to present how nudge can influence smart governance, supporting factors such as policy domain, trust, political and institutional environment, and internet reach and use by using the cyclical model of the actor-for-actor model (A4A), which gives a panorama on their intentionality and finality alignment, while exploring how resource integration works. Therefore, this theoretical study shows all variable’s relationships and their impact on supporting smart governance in smart city ecosystems by having citizens as major actors. This research can support policymakers to understand better the citizen’s engagement citizens and prepare through ICT technologies the possible choices for them to help integrate their resources.