Smart City and Technology Transfer: Towards Sustainable Infrastructure in Bahrain

Abstract

This paper aims to review the role of smart city innovation for sustainable infrastructure in Bahrain. It studies people’s perception and awareness about the smart city. The paper articulates the imperatives for harnessing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for smart infrastructure. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain is a member of GCC) face key challenges in water, energy and food security. This is exacerbated by climate change and energy dependence in spite of the region’s potential for solar and wind power and, in some cases, hydropower. Smart city innovations offer new possibilities for innovations to address the challenges in infrastructure. Technological innovations transform natural resources to serve human development. Green energy and ICT are becoming increasingly important in providing energy security and contributing to alleviating climate change risks. Hence, a transition to an innovative economy requires innovation in processes and technologies in infrastructure. The paper recommends that The GCC should be in line with the paradigm of mainstreaming green economy. Document analysis and a structured survey were used to collect data. The survey addressed three dimensions including Technology Enablers (TE), Smart Cities Strategies (SCS), and Social Awareness (SA).