SMART CITIES AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Large urban centers gather the largest proportion of the population, both globally and nationally. In order to coexist a large number of residents in a city, that city must evolve continuously in order to meet and satisfy their needs. In addition, it is imperative to develop a series of procedures that will make cities more sustainable , resilient and responsive to the new challenges. During the last years and in order to overcome the problems that have arisen, promising policies have been developed which aim, through the improvement of technology, in helping citizens and upgrading their quality of life. The environment in which these policies will be achieved is the environment of a smart city. According to European Commission, smart cities are cities using mainly technological solutions to improve the management and efficiency of the urban environment. However, creating these is a demanding process because digital transformation is needed on many levels, as the needs of residents and visitors are the main targets of these efforts. In order to make the concept of smart city more specific, it is defined as the smart combination of the capabilities and activities of determined, independent and sensitized citizens, and must be achieved in the sectors of Smart Environment, Smart Mobility, Smart People, Smart Governance, Smart Living and Smart Economy. This chapter/article aims to highlight the importance and the contribution of smart cities especially in the promotion of regional and local development. Initially on a theoretical level the concept of smart city will be analyzed according to international bibliography, what is smart city in practice, the route of smart cities during time, (history and their evolution) as well as description of the three generations of smart cities according to Cohen (2015) [smart cities driven by technology (1997 +), Technologically supported cities (2003 +), Citizen in the role of co – creator (2010 +)]. Then, after approaching the concept of spatial dimension, an attempt will be made to point the contribution of smart cities in regional and local development, and to describe the challenges/questionings of the future for a smart city. Finally as case study the effort of exploitation of the Eratinos Geothermal Field of the Municipality of Nestos, a medium sized Greek Municipality, will be presented as a means of upgrading in the sector of Smart Environment.