Abstract
Smart city projects are considered real challenges to the development of cities everywhere. The concept itself has many definitions, but a smart city should be defined less based on implemented IT solutions, and more based on optimization of its basic functions using new technologies. There are societal aspects of smart city implementations, similar to eGovernment early projects, and aspects of the use of digital technology that raise concerns. In most cities, the digital divide is still a problem. Smart city projects are the result of the fourth industrial revolution, but cities still lack a full implementation of solutions derived from previous industrial revolutions. Despite that, cities report a lot of smart city projects. Money still gets spent, as being a smart city is, in many cases, an artificial priority and a fashionable topic. Moreover, non-Internet technologies and their relations to a good smart city solution are also not considered. Digital divide bridging is one requirement for a full implementation of a smart city concept. A review of acceleration and deceleration factors shows the obstacles faced by smart city projects. Rankings of cities based on several smart city criteria are published frequently. Various approaches lead to contradictory rankings. A new set of comprehensive rankings developed by an international organization and based on reputable reports and statistics would be useful. The study is based on several smart city and eGovernment projects in Romania.
Highlights
Cities play a paramount role in social life
Despite numerous opinions defining smart cities based on the degree of IT implementation, this paper considers a smart city defined less based on these implemented IT solutions and more on the optimization of its functions through IT
The concept of the smart city is mostly related to the use of digital technologies in all city functions
Summary
Cities play a paramount role in social life. This role determines the actions to create smart cities. The smart city concept is a subset of the eGovernment concept and should inherit from it the citizen-centric principle. It inherits one of the challenges of eGovernment early implementations—the lack of enough planning and resource wastage when smart city projects are approached more for their fashionable nature and less for their real needs. This is frequently a case in areas where the digital divide is present, both from the citizen’s side and the side of the city administration staff. The concept of the smart city is reviewed and its relation to digital technologies is evaluIantethdi.sTphaepeimr, pthaectcoofntcheeptdoigfitthaledsimviadret cointysims arervt iceiwtieesd’ iamndplietms reenlatatitoionntso, tdhiegiirtaalctceeclhenraotlioognieasnids deveaceluleartaetdio. nThfaecitmorps,aactndofbtehnechdmigaitraklindgivaidree toankesnmianrttocciotinessi’diemraptlieomneanstsaoticoinetsa,ltphreoirblaecmcesl.eration and deceleration factors, and benchmarking are taken into consideration as societal problems
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