The “smart city” concept and human capital

Abstract

The concept of a “smart city” uses the notion of a “smart citizen”, which is impossible to understand without the concept of human capital. The implementation of the “smart city” concept directly relates to the actualization of human capital. It is important to define the elements of human capital that characterize and ensure the success of embedding a person in the processes of digitalization in the modern social context. This article provides an overview of modern approaches to the definition of the main elements of human capital. The authors aim to analyze foreign concepts for determining the elements of human capital that directly or indirectly affect the digitalization of society, the possibility of embedding each person in new conditions. The presence of general global changes, however, varies by countries. An additional value of this research lies in enriching the definition of human capital from the perspective of an integrated approach to the definition of this concept. This approach involves considering human capital as a value, quality, resource, skills, competencies, and personality traits. The authors conclude that human capital can be accepted as a system of aggregated indicators of social, psychological, organizational, and other capitals. In addition, the expanded interpretation of human capital with an emphasis on its embeddedness in the social context of society allows identifying the conditions that contribute to the formation of a smart citizen as the main actor in the implementation of the ‘smart city” concept. The social component of the “smart city” model in the person of a smart citizen can be implemented through their social activity, participation in the management of the implementation of the goals of digitalization of society.