Are Smart Cities Sustainable? The Evolution of Smart City Thinking

Abstract

This chapter explores the evolution of smart city thinking in order to have a clear understanding of what is involved in effectively and sustainably implementing a Smart City 4.0 strategy. The chapter illustrates that the concept of smart cities has evolved from the technology driven implementations to Cities as Open Innovation Platforms. These open and participatory platforms facilitate the interaction and collaboration of the city's citizens, government, industry, entrepreneurs, academia, creatives and the social sector so that they can harness their collective intelligence for innovation, experimentation and implementation of solutions that creates real transformational value for the betterment of the city's and its stakeholders. The author also identifies the key dimensions on which a smart city 4.0 concept must be built upon but highlights that depending on the composition of its stakeholder ecosystem, the City will prioritise different dimensions and so each smart city is unique. The chapter builds upon the experience of implementing a Smart City 4.0 project in Waterford, Ireland. Details of the smart city initiatives implemented are illustrates with examples.

Citation

Lynch, P. (2023), "Are Smart Cities Sustainable? The Evolution of Smart City Thinking", Flynn, S. and Hayes, R. (Ed.) Urban Planning for the City of the Future, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 161-186. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-215-520231009