The Study of Role and Position of ICT on the Citizen's Participation in Urban Management (Case Study: Esfahan City)

The aim of the present study is the analysis of the role and position of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as one of the prominent factors in citizens’ participation in urban management of Esfahan. The applied methodology in this study is of application one based on the purpose of the study، and survey one based on the process of data collection. The population of the study includes the citizens aged 20-49 who are living in Esfahan، and the sample size includes 384 persons، for which the Cochran formula is chosen. The results of the study show that the citizens’ E-participation is very low. The effect of the benefits of electronization، economic trust and information literacy on E-participation is significant in Structural Equation Model. Afterall the coefficient of the effects of electronization benefits is both negative and low، and the coefficient of the other factors is positive and moderate. The information literacy of 57 percent has had the upmost effects on E-participation. All the general and partial indexes are at the level of acceptability; therefore، the collected data support the specified theoretical model in a great extent. Generally، with the consideration of 48-percent prediction of E-participation and 23-percent estimation of dependent variable variance used by the factors of the study، the role of ICT in citizens’ participation is suitable. But the position of ICT in citizens’ participation in urban management and the framework of E-participation do not show any suitable condition.