It depends on how we define "smart." If a "smart" city is one where elected and appointed officials harmonize economic incentives with public policy objectives for affordable housing, job creation and sustainable development, then the pre-requisites are a desire for knowledge, systematic analysis, systems thinking and political will. Technology can facilitate this approach, but is not essential.

On the other hand, public officials can easily be seduced by the bells and whistles of the latest software and spend millions on IT without achieving meaningful, long-term changes in prosperity, equity or sustainability.

Well, in my view, the matter is not the "development" (¿?) stage but better the size, the economic dynamics and urban form of each settlement. In fact I believe that "Smart" Cities should be all around the planet.

I am personally conflicted on this matter. I am inclined to agree with others, the discourse on smart cities attempts to expand from the ICT-driven first generation, and encompass an approach based on learning, accessing and absorbing relevant knowledge to respond to challenges effectively and efficiently. On this premise, sure, it might be (attempting to be) universal. But many papers and especially grey literature - reports, strategies, policies from cities etc. - still focus on digitalization and ICT and advanced tech, usually to streamline, optimize something for even the most marginal benefits. This may result in an abundance of resources that is not feasible, nor the best in many parts of the world. Also, the SC approach would also mean that your chosen solutions, whatever they may be, will be heavily context-dependent. Some things may work at site A, but is sub-optimal at B and unworkable at C. Interestingly enough, this means that other people's failures might be your success. Also, if something is unworkable for C, it must be understood why, because if conditions change, you have a readily applicable solution. So, I would recommend learning the SC as an approach, as a method, a process, a mindset, but to also develop strong critical thinking skills, creativity in borrowing, adapting, applying out-of-context ideas, and overall a systems perspective to understand the intricate web of interdependencies that makes things work or not work.

Dear Viktor Bukovszki

Thank you very much for your clever answer and I share my opinion with you. Please introduce more resources or content about SC.

Smart city adopts smart form of entrepreneurship. Kindly look into the below article-

Article Annexing a Smart Sustainable Business Growth Model for Small...

Respected researcher,

The introduction and implementation of smart cities in the context of developing world has become vital than ever before. It converges the entrepreneurs and various stakeholders to raise the overall bar of the citizens' equitable and sustainable lifestyle with its long-sighted blueprint.

You may give a read to my paper titled: "Prospective Synergy between Bangladeshi SMEs and Smart City: Through the Lens of Society5.0".

Best,

Adding and agreeing with the very thoughtful insights, the term "smart city" should be clearly understood as an equitable, sustainable and appropriate general innovative improvement in access to services, facilities, living standards and a safe environment for everyone, whether it is involved or not, the latest technology. Thus, the smart city conditions should be measured by a set of specific city standards built on the needs and legitimate expectations of its very citizens.

An interesting article about some of the controversial ideas of smart cities, can be read in:

The Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities - Scientific American Blog Network

Dear Luis Fernando Gallegos-Rodríguez

Thanks for your answer and I follow this blog certainly.

Dear Nusrat Hafiz

I have a similar opinion with you. I think what you said is useful in reaching the smart city. Give more considerations if you intend.

Dear Ariful Islam

I will definitely review the article you suggested. Thank you.

Dear Rick Rybeck

You had a very deep and considerable answer and you analyzed the problem in a fundamental way. I'm glad to get to know your views this way. Because in our country, this issue has recently received a lot of attention, but the preconditions must be observed.

No. The smart city approach is technocratic and requires 1) political will to support the technocratic paradigm and 2) sufficient resources for acquiring the new technological systems.

In developing or underdeveloped cities, the smart city approach definitely needs to be reconsidered.

No. It depends on many factors of urban transformation (natural, economic, social and technological potentials, culture, tradition, architectural and natural heritage, urban identity, etc.) and the way decision makers will evaluate them in the vision of future development of the city.

I'm going to agree in large part with Luis Fernando Gallegos-Rodríguez here. He rightfully starts with the issues of equity, access, sustainability, before even mentioning the technological aspects.

Certainly, there are benefits for cities looking to improve access and interactivity for their citizens, but there are challenges.

First, I think it is useful to consider what sustainability means. Yes, there is the environmental perspective (obviously, a primary concern today), but there's a functional element as well. Is it sustainable if your city hires contractors to come in and set up the necessary technological infrastructure, leaving staff without the necessary knowledge and skills to maintain the network and correctly leverage it to improve the lives of residents? Clearly no.

Second, smart cities rely heavily on data gathering and analytical tools, and data without context can be counterproductive if your city is indeed striving for the goals mentioned above. Avoiding the pitfalls of overvaluing specific data requires a highly professional decision-making team that understands the subtleties of administrative systems and their application in social science.

So, aspiring toward becoming a smart city can certainly bring benefits to a city in need of digital administrative tools, but smart cities are not in and of themselves an appropriate choice for all cities and should not be pursued without due care and attention to the fundamentals of city administration.

I just need to contribute something here. For each and every city in the world different maturity models are needed. The first step is to find the elements of those maturity models. These maturity models can be chosen or created. Potentially every city in this world can adopt a maturity model to become smarter based on the need of that city. A maturity model for the city in India can be different from the one in Austria. As mentioned above, governance and using ICT technologies are the key elements of smart cities in my idea.

Not at all. The concept of smart cities is an integrated approach to coordinate all essential services. It needs modernizes digital, physical and social infrastructure to make delivery of city services more efficient, innovative, equitable, connected, secure, sustainable and exciting.

The smart city notion is considered a multi-faceted notion or many believe that there is no consensus about what a truly smart city is!!! Of course, the success of smart city development depends on several reasons, so every single city based on its initial condition and its own characteristics defines how willing to implement a smart city project, which would vary in developed or developing countries. Thus, the answer to your question is yes! The concept of smart city or "becoming smart" or "smartness" is far beyond digitalization or a technocratic view that emphasizes just technological advancement. In this sense, the smartness would manifest in urban managers' (decision-makers) insights and citizens' behaviour. In a smart city, citizens are at the core (bottom-up initiatives), and in terms of institutional components, integration is a must. So, regardless of facilitating role of ICT, this approach would be applicable to manage a city wisely with participatory governance. In this regard, empowering citizens and encouraging them to behaviour change (energy, transportation behaviour, creativity, etc.,) as well as how urban managers interpret smartness in their view, policies and strategies is a key point.

في الوقت الراهن اعتقد ان تطبيق مفهوم المدن الذكية ربما يكون من الصعب الوصول اليه خاصة مع ما يتطلبة من توفير العديد من المستلزمات التقنية فضلاً عن توفر الكوادر البشرية القادرة على ادارة المدن الذكية والتعاطي معها بايجابية ، فالمدن الذكية بحاجة ايضاً الى تشريعات وقوانين تتماشى مع النهج الديموقراطي ومناخ عالي من الحرية الفردية وهو ما يتوفر بالوقت الراهن في الدول النامية . ربما يمكن في المنظور القريب نرى ذلك يتحقق في دول الاسيان مثلاً او بعض دول الخليج كالامارات العربية المتحدة والعربية السعودية

The smart city principles can be applied universally, however, it is necessary to make technological and behavioral adaptations, because there is also a cultural component.