Cultural heritage challenges and Smart city concept (a strategic planning tool in a strategic planning framework)

Abstract

The Smart City concept is often debated in academic, corporate, and institutional spheres, highlighting its conceptual model variations and technological interests. Many cities have decided to implement the Smart City concept as another development strategy with the vision of growth and efficiency enhancement. Such strategy refers to an extra instrument, in many cases, for bridging technological-based solutions with urban development. However, a social aspect is increasingly considered as the missing piece in the Smart City concept. This paper examines the presence of socio-economic aspects in the Smart City conceptual model and the difference by its practical implementation, searching specifically for cultural heritage. The paper uses case studies to investigate the models of cultural heritage integration in different existing Smart strategies of the historical cities and cities significant for their cultural heritage. Case studies aim to provide an oververview of Smart strategies and Smart technologies, that support cultural heritage as one of the main aspects of its development and address its global challenges. The paper provides a critical view of Smart strategies based on technological innovations in historical cities, where the aspect of cultural heritage as an identity creator was neglected. The research addresses the overall position of the Smart City strategy in the strategic planning framework. It draws attention to coherence with other development strategies searching for cultural heritage objectives, in the case study of Nitra. The paper concludes with recommendations for positioning Smart City's strategy in strategic planning frameworks.