Specifically concerning the project on potholes, the reasons of
this negative outcome can be found in a number of factors. First,
people did not perceive the importance of the contributions they
could give to the community, or they thought – even without
experimenting the application – that its use should only pertain
to people having some technical knowledge of the potholes and/
or people able to play an active role in decision-making processes
related to the city. The fact that the initiative was not launched by
the local government (with a clearly-stated purpose of improving
road condition) but rather by a university – which has no voice
in decision-making processes – may have influenced people in this
sense. In addition, the absence of any incentive to use the app may
have discouraged people to try it at least once, or to use it again
after the first time.