Urban Measures against Digital Exclusion: Findings from German (Smart) City Strategies

This study investigates measures that cities take to address the digital divide. It examines the extent to which cities’ strategy documents contain measures designed to ensure digital participation and prevent exclusion. The research is based on a survey of digitalization and Smart City strategy documents from 55 medium-sized German cities. A multi-stage methodological approach was applied, combining automated text extraction, systematic key-word searches, and qualitative content analysis for inductive category development. Our analysis reveals widespread rhetorical commitment to digital inclusion, but significant variation in the specificity of measures. An imbalance between symbolic objectives and actionable strategies is observed. A typology of six measure types was developed. The distribution of these measure types shows that most cities prioritize implementation-level actions, particularly communication-oriented instruments. Structural and institutional measures are mentioned far less frequently. Our research provides an analytical model that differentiates between strategic vs. operational and normative vs. concrete approaches to address the digital divide. It offers policymakers and researchers a systematic tool for evaluating and developing inclusive digital transformation strategies in an era of rapid digital developments in the fields of AI and the CitiVerse, which, despite their potential, are also capable of deepening the digital divide.