From data silos to data agency: The role of local sports communities as data agents in urban governance

Abstract

This study investigates the overlooked yet pivotal role of local sports communities (LSCs) as data agents in the collaborative governance of urban public spaces. Rather than framing citizens’ leisure sports solely as intervention, we develop a triadic framework, comprising Governance Structure, Data Production, and Decision Mediation, to analyze how LSCs generate, manage, and translate data for urban governance. Three integration patterns are identified through the theory-informed case studies ( n = 12). The findings show that LSCs function with multifaceted roles, providing trust and legitimacy, generating grounded data, and mobilizing narratives to shape governance pathways. Ultimately, we conclude with a Quadrant Model to map LSCs’ embeddedness along the axes of institutional legitimacy and grassroots agency, offering a diagnostic tool for tracing the evolution from data silos to active data agency. The study contributes to debates on data-driven urbanism, collaborative governance, and leisure sports.