Smart Cities are, while hot-and-happening, in the field of urban planning, also a source of confusionand debate. While many argue against the technology-driven and top-down nature of the Smart Citymodel, the bottom-up component is often appointed as the deciding factor in the determinationwhether a Smart City can be successful and contributing to its set goals, or rather resulting in an effortharming the city and its citizens in the long run. This thesis set out to explore the bottom-upcomponent in one of the most revered and most bottom-up Smart Cities of the world, Amsterdam.Remarkably, the research has proven that Amsterdam Smart City, even though it is often seen as oneof the good examples, suffers from the same issues. Its initiatives are an amalgamation of subjectsthat hardly seem to fit under the smart narrative as propagated by Amsterdam Smart City and hardlyany initiatives can be considered truly bottom-up. If one of the prime examples fails to adhere to itsown standards, what does this mean for the concept of smart cities?