This volume provides the most current research on smart cities.
Specifically, it focuses on the economic development and sustainability
of smart cities and examines how to transform older industrial cities
into sustainable smart cities. It aims to identify the role of the
following elements in the creation and management of smart cities: -
Citizen participation and empowerment - Value creation mechanisms -
Public administration- Quality of life and sustainability- Democracy-
ICT- Private initiatives and entrepreneurship
Regardless of their size, all cities are ultimately agglomerations of
people and institutions. Agglomeration economies make it possible to
attain minimum efficiencies of scale in the organization and delivery of
services. However, the economic benefits do not constitute the main
advantage of a city. A city's status rests on three dimensions: (1)
political impetus, which is the result of citizens' participation and
the public administration's agenda; (2) applications derived from
technological advances (especially in ICT); and (3) cooperation between
public and private initiatives in business development and
entrepreneurship. These three dimensions determine which resources are
necessary to create smart cities. But a smart city, ideal in the way it
channels and resolves technological, social and economic-growth issues,
requires many additional elements to function at a high-performance
level, such as culture (an environment that empowers and engages
citizens) and physical infrastructure designed to foster competition and
collaboration, encourage new ideas and actions, and set the stage for
new business creation.
Featuring contributions with models, tools and cases from around the
world, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers, students,
academics, professionals and policymakers interested in smart cities.
