The open big data paradigm has reshaped citizen engagement, promoting digital participation in scientific and policy processes. Transport planning – a field dominated by technical expertise – reveals the specialised dispositions and skills needed to navigate the politics of open big data. Using a Bourdieusian lens and a case study in Hong Kong, this paper explores citizen empowerment within the open big data landscape, focusing on the symbolic aspects of data use. As citizens gain data access, they increasingly adopt professional practices valued in transport planning, aligning with the field's evidence-based standards. Despite expanded citizen participation, findings indicate that much of this engagement remains symbolic. Industry insiders, acting as cultural intermediaries and ‘historic firsts’, symbolically empower citizens by representing them, challenging stereotypes that portray citizens as uninformed. This representation shapes a collective identity, framing citizens as legitimate political agents. Access to authorised open big data sources as symbolic capital, with field-specific linguistic practices, further enhances these intermediaries’ legitimacy. Conceptualising data c
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