Collaboration and Influence: The Role of a Tech Company in Urban Platform Development

Urban platforms play an important role in supporting the delivery of smart city initiatives. However, the collaborative processes involving urban politics during the development of such platforms are often overlooked. The present study asks how a city government and a tech company collaborate to develop an urban platform through a smart city mobile application (app). The analysis focuses on Magelang Smart City (Magesty), a mobile app for urban services initiated by the Magelang City government. Employing a case study research design, a series of in-depth interviews involving representatives from the local government and the tech company who collaborated in developing Magesty between August 2020 and January 2021 revealed the significant influence of the tech company in shaping the platform. This finding highlights the recent fad of platformization in cities, driven by private sector involvement, which reflects technocratic, neoliberal, and de-political approaches. Consequently, adopting a more participatory and citizen-centered approach to urban platform development becomes increasingly urgent to better address the needs of city residents.