Smart City Projects Research Articles

Optimal sizing for microgrids integrating distributed flexibility with the Perth West smart city as a case study

With the decreasing cost of green technologies and the increasing ambitions to reach the net-zero carbon emissions target, more communities are engaged in renewable deployment and energy-intensive technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles will be intensively adopted in the near future. The integration of these appliances in lower grid levels will likely require grid reinforcements. However, some of these appliances are flexible and there is an opportunity to explore their flexibility potential to optimise the investment costs further. This paper proposes an optimal design strategy for a grid-connected site that returns the renewable generation and storage’s optimal sizing capacities and the required network reinforcement capacity. The novelty of the work is integrating network upgrade costs and considering flexibility from distributed flexible resources across planning and operation. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer piecewise linear problem, with the capacities of generation, storage and network upgrade as decision variables. The piecewise linear cost function related to the upgrade costs figuring in the objective function is then recast as a mixed-integer problem, and the flexible resources are modelled through an approximation method as a single virtual flexible asset. The application of the strategy on the Perth West smart city project as a case study demonstrates the importance of considering flexibility in the planning phase. The costs related to the storage system can decrease by up to 76%, and the overall costs by up to 35%, with the highest levels of savings, reached for the highest rates of electric vehicle adoption.

A Framework for Effective Design Thinking Based Smart Cities Projects in Qatar

With the growing implementation of smart city projects and the significance of the research problem related to effective design thinking, the opinion of the ordinary citizens have become very relevant and contemporary. The current paper presents a quantitative empirical study focused on the attitudes towards and the readiness to accept smart cities in the specific context of Qatar. The study employs a survey questionnaire as a data collection tool. The survey is distributed online among a sample of 40 respondents from Qatar, including both residents and non-residents of smart cities in the country. Even though the sample is not representative of the Qatari population, the present study provides preliminary findings and fundamental insights into this novel topic in a specific socio-economic context. The major findings of the study uncovered that the respondents show quite positive attitudes toward diverse aspects related to smart economy, smart people, smart governance, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart living, as well as significant readiness to accept this lifestyle. However, the respondents demonstrate concerns related to the privacy and security of the people living in smart cities. The superiority of fundamental aspects of life like housing and healthcare in smart cities compared to conventional ones are also questioned by the respondents.

Initiation, marketing and branding of smart city projects: a study of decision processes

ABSTRACT Today, smart city areas and initiatives are found throughout the world, yet little research has been completed into the processes whereby decisions concerning the initiation, marketing, and branding of smart city projects have been taken. The present study examined these processes via interviews with 18 smart city managers, followed by an online World Café which was convened to discuss emerging issues. Interviewees were asked to relate stories of how decisions had been reached, which stakeholders had been prioritised, the extent of citizen co-creation in project initiation and branding, and the main difficulties involved. An argumentative narrative discourse methodology was employed to analyse the interview transcripts, which revealed a number of disparities between the suggestions of extant place branding literature and current practice where smart city projects were concerned.

Societal smart city: Definition and principles for post-pandemic urban policy and practice

Smart cities are expected to address global challenges and increase the quality of life. However, due to the overemphasis on physical and technological aspects, social rights and democratic values have often been neglected in smart city projects. In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal smart city’ and discuss how and why it should be prioritized in the post-pandemic era. We argue that a societal smart city is a city that integrates social rights and democratic values with technological innovations. Six major dimensions of a societal smart city are: social sustainability, citizen-centeredness, e-democracy, social justice, participatory governance, and cultural resilience. We encourage urban planners and policymakers to pay attention to these dimensions and caution against physical and technological determinism.

Detection of object throwing behavior in surveillance videos

Anomalous behavior detection is a challenging research area within computer vision. One such behavior is throwing action in traffic flow, which is one of the unique requirements of our Smart City project to enhance public safety. This paper proposes a solution for throwing action detection in surveillance videos using deep learning. At present, datasets for throwing actions are not publicly available. To address the use-case of our Smart City project, we first generate the novel public 'Throwing Action' dataset, consisting of 271 videos of throwing actions performed by traffic participants, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and car drivers, and 130 normal videos without throwing actions. Second, we compare the performance of different feature extractors for our anomaly detection method on the UCF-Crime and Throwing-Action datasets. Finally, we improve the performance of the anomaly detection algorithm by applying the Adam optimizer instead of Adadelta, and we propose a mean normal loss function that yields better anomaly detection performance. The experimental results reach an area under the ROC curve of 86.10 for the Throwing-Action dataset, and 80.13 on the combined UCF-Crime+Throwing dataset, respectively.

Smart Mobility and Smart Climate: An Illustrative Case in Seville, Spain

In recent years, smart city projects and initiatives have surged around the globe. Yet, a wide range of factors determine the success or failure of such initiatives and there is still a long road ahead in terms of effective governance and innovation management. In such a context, this study explores the specific case of PCT Cartuja (science and technology park in Seville, Spain)-analyzing several smart-mobility and smart-climate solutions from a Triple Helix Model standpoint. The authors tap into multiple information sources to describe the case and key implications of smart initiatives for both theory and management are discussed. This paper shows the current progress as well as the remaining challenges to illustrate how public-private partnerships and conflict can be effectively managed.

Guidelines for a participatory Smart City model to address Amazon's urban environmental problems.

Climate change is a global challenge, and the Brazilian Amazon Forest is a particular concern due to the possibility of reaching a tipping point that could amplify environmental crises. Despite many studies on the Amazon Forest, this research was conducted in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, to address five gaps, including the lack of local citizen consultation on urban environmental issues, Smart Cities, decarbonization, and disruptive technologies. This study holds significance for the academy community, government bodies, policymakers, and investors, as it offers novel insights into the Amazon region and proposes a model to engage citizens in Smart Cities. This model could also guide other municipalities aspiring for participatory sustainable development with a decarbonization focus, mitigating future risks, and protecting future generations. Basically, it is an explanatory and applied study that employs mixed methods, including literature, bibliometric and documentary reviews, two questionnaires, and descriptive statistical approaches, organized in four phases to reach the following goals: (a) provide information on the main challenges facing humanity, the Brazilian Amazon state, and the city of Manaus; (b) identify the best Smart City approaches for engaging citizens in solving urban problems; (c) contextualize and consult Manaus City Hall about the effectiveness of the Smart City project; (d) investigate the perceptions of citizens living in Manaus on the main city's environmental problems, as well as their level of knowledge and interest on issues related to Smart Cities, decarbonization, and disruptive technologies; (e) propose a participatory Smart City model with recommendations. Among the result, the study found that the term "Smart City" dominates scholarly publications among nineteen urban-related terms, and the five main environmental problems in Manaus are an increase in stream pollution, garbage accumulation, insufficient urban afforestation, air pollution, and traffic congestion. Although citizens are willing to help, the majority lack knowledge on Smart City and Decarbonized City issues, but there is a considerable interest in training related to these issues, as well as disruptive technologies. It was found that Amsterdam, Melbourne, Montreal, San Francisco, Seoul, and Taipei all have a formal model to engage citizens in solving their urban problems. The main conclusion is that, after 6 years, the Smart City Project in Manaus is a political fallacy, as no model, especially with a citizen participatory approach, has been effectively adopted. In addition, after conducting a literature and documentary review and analyzing 25 benchmark Smart Cities, the P5 model and the Citizen Engagement Kit model are proposed with 120 approaches and guidelines for addressing the main environmental problems by including Manaus' citizens in the Smart City and/or decarbonization journey.

Citizens motivation towards solar energy in the context of the smart city, the case of Casablanca Morocco

The protection of the environment is one of the major concerns of individuals who seek to satisfy their needs without exploiting the reserve of future generations according to the principle of sustainable development. Nevertheless, any Smart City project requires the protection of the environment, the responsibility of citizens in its realization and a desire to encourage their participation in the various issues and dimensions of the creation of a smart city. Our research question aims to determine the extent to which the residents of the city of Casablanca are ready to support the Smart City project by adopting a responsible purchasing behavior towards their environment through the use of renewable energies. In order to achieve our goal we have resorted to the positivist paradigm by adopting deductive logic based on an existing theoretical model illustrated by the literature review which is the theory of self-determination. We opted for a questionnaire distributed to the profile of Internet users and the processing of the results obtained is done using the SPSS software. The analysis of the data collected showed that the majority of citizens are interested in the use of renewable energies and are ready to collaborate in the Smart City project.

TOWARDS SMART CITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA: EVOLUTION, DEFINITIONS, AND FUTURE CITIES

High urbanisation rates lead to increasing pressure on governments to provide sustainable living conditions. This article aims to explore the approaches that smart city projects around the world use to address some of these challenges. The evolution of cities is landmarked by technological innovation; and the successful use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology seems to be another landmark. In this article the focus falls first on the evolution of cities and the definition and future of smart cities. In part two the focus is on the challenges and opportunities that South Africa faces in its quest to build smart cities.

Smart government: role of e-government in local government

The concept of a smart city has become a popular topic among researchers over the last decades. The concept of e-government and smart city are interconnected with each other. E-government focuses on using information and communication technology (ICT) to provide better services. Similarly, a smart city also focuses on utilizing the data on a larger scale to foster innovation. This paper provides an overview and initial understanding of egovernment roles in the local authority in Malaysia. Local authority plays a prominent role in providing government services to the people in the cities and in realizing the smart city concept. This paper contributes to the existing literature on smart city and e-government by providing insight into the roles of e-government as a part of smart city projects.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ КАЧЕСТВА ПРОЕКТОВ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ГОРОДОВ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЦИФРОВИЗАЦИИ ЭКОНОМИКИ

The purpose of this article is to analyze the regulatory framework and quality problems of project management of sustainable urban development in the context of digitalization of the economy, as well as the prospects for their solution. Objectives: consideration of basic concepts and documents in the field of project management of sustainable urban development in the context of digitalization, formation of a list of current problems regarding the quality of the Smart City project, as well as prospects for their solution. The author confirmed the hypothesis that there are a number of issues that require the development of theoretical and methodological foundations for managing the quality of project implementation to achieve sustainable urban development. The research was based on general scientific and special methods of cognition. As a result, the author has compiled a list of current problems in the quality of project management for the sustainable development of cities in the context of digitalization of the economy, and also indicates the prospects for their solution.

GREEN IOT FOR SUSTAINABLE SMART CITIES: INNOVATIONS AND CHALLENGES

This research paper explores "Green IoT for Smart Cities," the integration of green technologies and Internet of Things (IoT) applications to foster environmentally sustainable urban environments. The study reviews the state-of-the-art developments in energy-efficient sensor networks, smart waste management, intelligent transportation systems, and optimized energy consumption in buildings. Real-world implementations of Green IoT initiatives in smart city projects worldwide are analyzed, highlighting successes and challenges in achieving sustainability objectives. The paper outlines potential benefits, including reduced carbon footprint, optimized resource allocation, improved air quality, and enhanced quality of life for citizens, as well as economic implications for cities and businesses. Limitations such as data security, privacy concerns, scalability, and interoperability among IoT systems are identified, along with future research directions. Overall, this paper emphasizes the significance of integrating Green IoT technologies into smart city frameworks to address environmental challenges in urbanization, offering valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.

"Smart city" as a resource vector for territorial sustainable development

Sustainable development of the subjects of the Russian Federation, increase of investment attractiveness of the regions is conditioned by necessity of formation of modern infrastructure, innovative transformations in economy and also realization of effective investment projects and their information-communication promotion. The article highlights the issues of sustainable development of territories of the Russian Federation and provides examples of successful communication practices in the field of creating a comfortable urban environment. Therefore, the article considers the basic concepts of the Smart City project. Separate attention is paid to the integrated territory development standard, the emphasis is placed on innovative strategies and technologies in the management of sustainable development of "smart cities" territories on the example of Voronezh urban district.

Legal regulation and the process of introducing technologies into everyday life within the framework of the Smart City project"

Legal regulation and the process of introducing technologies into everyday life within the framework of the Smart City project"

Primena IT u javnom sektoru od strane lokalnih vlasti - koristi i izazovi

State and local governments in e-tools have important instruments of quality management and the creation and implementation of sectoral policies. Smart city projects provide excellent services to citizens, increase the transparency and accountability of authorities, as well as citizens' satisfaction with services. Participative edecision-making is useful because citizens are indispensable for expressing their needs, assessing the quality of services, and setting requests and initiatives (co-production). On the other hand, it is also important to include public servants who ensure that decisions are optimally shaped and that services are tailored according to the needs of specific people (personalization of services) and the community. Serbia has a systemic problem of centralization, a top-down approach to management, weak participation of citizens and weak involvement of experts in the work of e-government. Good practice indicates that e-government cannot function without the active involvement of citizens, so our system needs to be changed and improved. These changes would also modernize management, decision making and policy making (evidence based decision and policy making). The consequence would be the creation of services according to the needs of citizens, which increases citizens' satisfaction with the quality of services. In addition, these processes strengthen the socialization of citizens, strengthen democratic capacities of communities, and raise the motivation of employees to contribute to the quality of work (strengthening of professionalization, motivation and dignity of public servants).

Russian urban and challenges of modernity: neural networks in digital city discourse

In the context of the adaptation of domestic urbanism to current trends in development, science, technology and society, the prospects of the Smart City project are explored, where sustainable development and increasing the comfort of human life optimize economic processes. The actor-network theory has become relevant in the study of the city as a ―living network‖, where not only a person is an active reality modifier, but also things, and in our case, neural network technologies set trends in urban discourse and change the nature of relationships.

Behavioral Model Deployment for the Transportation Projects within a Smart City Ecosystem: Cases of Germany and South Korea

This research focused on a behavioral model as a significant tangible enabler for smart city plans and initiatives across Asian and EU regions as per transportation projects. This study aimed to create a behavioral model to serve as a planning tool for policymakers, planners, and implementers of transportation initiatives in smart cities. The paper discusses the validity of the proposed model framework for fostering the diffusion of a successful smart city project transformation in a general smart city ecosystem and particularly within the transportation industry. The framework was verified using three different methods: literature review to give a speculative understanding of current smart city approaches; case studies from Germany and South Korea smart city ecosystems that were selected and applied against the behavioral model; and finally, desktop research (behavioral model) performed for smart city project development. As a result, the authors recognized key variables for deriving a possible successful behavioral model as a suggested efficient framework for further smart city strategic projects. Researchers developed and tested, with two validated examples, the suggested behavioral model for smart city projects with a focus on the transportation industry. Results of this survey could help stakeholders in different countries analyze factors influencing decision-making processes and adopt smart city projects to local business environments.

THE CONCEPT OF THE SMART CITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO RESTORE THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE OF UKRAINE DURING THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Modern information technologies in the world are developing at a very fast pace and gradually cover all spheres of human life. This greatly facilitates and improves a person's life, fills it with new meaning. This is how smart cities are built in developed countries. These are approaches to the management of urban infrastructure, where innovations and breakthrough information technologies allow citizens not only to use resources economically, but also to actively participate in the life and development of their own city. This allows to form a strategy for a successful and competitive future of the city. To date, the concept of a smart city for Ukraine is not the most relevant due to the fact that the country is in the active phase of the war. However, in order to speed up the country's recovery processes in the post-war period, one should reasonably approach the choice of the development strategy that will become the basis for restoring the Ukrainian economy in the near future. A deeper study of the essence of the concept of a smart city has led to the conclusion that this approach can be saving for the weakened economy of Ukraine and create conditions for its future rapid development.
 The paper considers the content of the concept of a smart city and its evolution over time. It has been established that the main components of the successful implementation of the concept of a smart city are the economy, mobility, environment, human capital, life potential and management. The essence of each of the six selected components is detailed. Based on a study of the goals, content and best practices for implementing the concept of a smart city within such developed cities of the world as New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Shanghai, the features of the functioning of successful smart cities in the world are determined. The most successful smart city projects are given, which can become guidelines for the restoration of Ukrainian cities. Taking into account the current global trends in the construction of smart cities and taking into account the Ukrainian geopolitical specifics, the key directions for the restoration of Ukrainian cities in the post-war period are formulated. These areas include security, infrastructure, mobility, healthy life, information and ecology.

Modern Foreign Approaches to Defining the Concept of Smart City

The relevance of this paper is strengthened by the significant proliferation of smart city projects worldwide as well as the importance of developing the comprehensive urban development strategies in the post-war recovery of Ukraine. The author focuses on systematizing the theoretical and practical understanding of smart cities, in terms of the international practices. Firstly, the article establishes a correlation between the concept of a smart city and frequently used terms such as “learning city,” “wise city,” “innovation city,” “digital city,” “e-city,” “sustainable (green) city,” and “wired city.” Secondly, it analyzes the characteristics of three models of defining the concept of a smart city such as the technological approach, sustainable development approach, and component-based approach. Thirdly, the article explores teleological, functional, and descriptive approaches to formulating definitions that can be applied in practice. The author emphasizes the importance of having a comprehensive, purposeoriented definition or a series of definitions for the concept of a smart city in order to develop effective strategies at various levels, including local, regional, and national. It is pointed out that such a strategy should be based on the principles of sustainable development, human-centricity, transparency, and openness, while promoting education, partnerships, collaboration, while preserving security, confidentiality, and accessibility. The primary goal outlined in the strategic vision of a smart city should be to ensure the sustainable development of cities, enhance the well-being of people, and enable the safe utilization of advanced technologies and digital solutions. The article proposes a working format for defining the concept, based on in-depth literature review and an overview of international perspectives. The findings are intended to have promising implications for the development of effective multi-level city development strategies for the sustainable recovery of Ukraine.

A Systematic Literature Review on Smart City Project Initiatives for Rural Community Participation

Most democratic governments have prioritizedoffering people more significant input in government decision-making and promoting public participation in policy creation. People and governments may now effectively integrate formerly unsurmountable gaps in their relationships thanks to advances in digital and information technologies. "Smart City" technologies are not a new term in today's urbanizationdevelopment field; however, this "Smart City" technologies term is likely unfamiliar with the rural area, as the rural area is sometimes assumed to perform poorly in the development of innovative city initiatives, which are mostly being pioneered by the local government authority with a focus on a city or urban region. Citizens can now participate in decision-making and policy-making due to the smart city project initiative, which cannot be disregarded entirely; unfortunately, rural population participation remains limited. This conceptual research aims to examine smart city project aspirations for the rural community public participation framework. The author comprehends the importance of including significant public participation in all parts of the planning process. The methodology behind this researchis based on a detailed study of the scholarly literature that has already been done. The conclusions of the research were derived from a number of different reading materials, such as books, journals, and other sources on smart city programsfor public participation in rural areas.