Smart cities - an analysis of smart transportation management

Abstract

Following an extensive literature review, there appears to be no universal definition of a smart city and over the last decade, it has become a useful branding tool for ICT firms to sell their products to municipalities. Following the changing political climate, the adoption of smart city innovations has slowed as funding is no longer secured. As a consequence, municipalities found themselves in a position where they were no longer focusing on product-centric solutions. The risks involved in investing public funds in new programs is high, so the municipalities should be aware of them and attempt to mitigate them. This report contains a STEEP analysis to outline the benefits and risks of smart city innovations and a comparison of seven mid-sized US cities implementing different programs has been performed to contrast the different approaches to implementation. Beyond the technology involved, most of the research has pointed to governance of smart city programs as the greatest indicator of success or failure. Cities with a strong mayor’s office and a top-down governance found it more difficult to carry through with these programs, but cities run by strong city councils have a bottom up governance that is best suited for smart city innovations. Additionally, the trend appears to be shifting from large scale projects that often carry a high price, to implementing several projects on a pilot basis to determine which will have the greatest probability for success in the future. While additional research is needed, this report hopes to add to the existing literature and provide greater insight into the rapidly evolving innovations surrounding smart city development.