Smart Sustainable Cities: a Meta-Analysis of Concepts and Discourses in the Literature

Abstract

Objective: Establish a descriptive correlation between different concepts of Smart and Sustainable Cities, in terms of theoretical and empirical foundations and assumptions. Method: The analysis is mixed, using a Systematic Literature Review and the PSALSAR methodology - Protocol, Search, Appraisal, Syntesis, Analysis and Results. The searches were carried out on four international scientific databases and one national database, with an interdisciplinary focus, involving the areas of Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, Engineering and Energy. Research Significance: The idea of making cities smart and sustainable arises from looking for solutions in the places where the majority of the population is concentrated, along with the opportunities and threats to provide sustainable development. However, the concepts and structures relating to these cities are unclear, and there is still divergent discussion about which technologies have a positive impact on society and what their effects are on the sustainability of the planet. Results and Discussion: The approaches and discourses are aligned with the concept of sustainable development, but implementation in practice depends on government policies. Several counterpoints were found in the discourses analysed, including the fact that smart cities are not necessarily sustainable, and even in cities labelled as smart and sustainable, the lack of an environmental focus was highlighted.