Unveiling the Role of Zoos in Smart Cities: A Quantitative Analysis of the Degree of Smartness in Kyoto City Zoo

Abstract

The rapid pace of urbanization and the emergence of social challenges, including an aging population and increased labor costs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, have underscored the urgency to explore smart city solutions. Within these technologically advanced urban environments, zoos have assumed a pivotal role that extends beyond their recreational functions. They face labor cost challenges and ecological considerations while actively contributing to wildlife conservation, environmental education, and scientific research. Zoos foster a connection with nature, promote biodiversity awareness, and offer a valuable space for citizens, thereby directly supporting the pillars of sustainability, public engagement, and technological innovation in smart cities. This study employs a quantitative analysis to assess the alignment between smart projects and the distinctive characteristics of Kyoto Zoo. Through questionnaires, we collected feedback on performance and importance, and subsequently employed the analytic hierarchy process and the fuzzy integrated evaluation method to obtain quantitative results. The findings reveal the high level of intelligence exhibited by Kyoto Zoo, and the analysis provides insightful guidance that can be applied to other urban facilities. At the same time, we compared Kyoto Zoo with Ueno Zoo to see the difference in intellectualization achievements in different contexts in terms of data and systems.