Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in compulsion and encouragement of actions that have enabled changes to occur globally that have then been adapted to current conditions. For their highly dense populations, it is difficult to control the spread of the virus in cities. As a result, activities that draw large crowds together so that people can access public services are inevitable. Several cities that have been declared as smart cities in Indonesia have made a breakthrough by making use of information and communication technology (ICT)-based applications. This can be of great help for societies during pandemics. ICT has been able to help citizens perform various activities from home with the help of applications. This study aims to identify various applications that support the implementation of the concept of a smart city. This applies particularly to those applications that are based on ICT that can tackle the unique conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and make recommendations regarding future developments. The data collected for this study were analyzed using secondary sources obtained from various clusters of literature, the internet, and social media. In addition, primary data was gathered from discussion forums. This paper employs a qualitative approach with qualitative descriptive data analysis techniques and hierarchical cluster analysis. Qualitative descriptive analysis was utilized to explore the conditions of smart cities, the regional conditions of the pandemic, and smart city applications more generally. The results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and regions, including the 100 smart cities in Indonesia, have developed many innovative solutions through ICT-based applications that can help people maintain an active social life and access public services. In the future, when everything is allegedly back to normal, cities need to implement the use of various ICT-based applications to increase efficiency in their planning and management. Therefore, it has become increasingly necessary to improve people’s digital literacy and to develop a type of ICT infrastructure that enables more people to access the internet.
Highlights
They all became an object of investigation, for it was crucial to find out what kinds of applications were employed to support the implementation of smart cities, the ones that have been used during a pandemic
The use of smart city applications can increase the effectiveness of providing government services to the public, which is encouraged to perform these activities, raising their overall levels of productivity, safety, and well-being
While there are various applications found in different cities and regions, some of them have very similar characteristics and benefits
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various regions on a global scale. Has it affected countries in Asia, such as China, where the COVID-19 outbreak began, and Indonesia, but it has had a profound effect on countries in Europe and the Americas. Various countries have been locked down to limit the movement of their people entering and leaving the country to minimize the risk of transmission. Keeping physical distance from one another and staying at home are pivotal ways to limit the spread of the virus [1]. People need to participate in societal activities that all traditionally require leaving home. Since the emergence of COVID-19, the use of Infrastructures 2021, 6, 119.
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