Smart cities are presented as both inevitable and benign futures: the technological development is unstoppable and will bring us wealthier, safer and more sustainable cities. Putting technology to use, however, is never entirely a matter of engineering but of strategic, political and value-laden choices. Albert Meijer from Utrecht University in the Netherlands will present his perspective on these issues based on his extensive research into smart cities, e-government, social media and open data. The governance of smart cities is re-conceptualized as the socio-technical structures that emerge from the governance games. The governance challenge is to develop legitimate rules for perceptions, power relations and decisions in smart cities. Meijer will present various examples from cities around the world but also highlight how we need to develop a theoretical understanding that combines classical theories in public administration with theories about technological dynamics to understand techno-governance of modern cities.