مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد اجرای شهر هوشمند و گفتمان – الزویر 2018

Introduction

Cities are places where agglomeration economies attain their highest yields, producing cultural, economic and social benefits (United Nations, 1996). However, growing urbanisation patterns create a series of problems that reduce quality of life in urban settlements, such as inequality, pollution, ageing population, insecurity and others. The Smart City concept first emerged in the 1990s (Alawadhi et al., 2012) as an alternative to traditional planning modes, using new technologies (specially ICT) to tackle these problems. Smart cities are usually seen as a tool to solve urban challenges in an increasingly urbanised world (Albino, Berardi, & Dangelico, 2015; Chourabi et al., 2012; De Santis, Fasano, Mignolli, & Villa, 2014; Meijer & Bolivar, 2015; Nam & Pardo, 2011b). The lack of consensus as to the definition of a Smart City has led to specific research on this topic. Several authors have designed conceptual and typological approaches to provide a systematic understanding of Smart City concepts and policies. Some authors focus on the essential components of Smart Cities, understanding the balance between people, technology and institutions (Ben Letaifa, 2015; Colldahl, Frey, & Kelemen, 2013; Nam & Pardo, 2011b) as crucial for a city to be considered Smart. Other proposals for classifying Smart City concepts and policies are based on schools of thought (Kummitha & Crutzen, 2017) or a spatial approach, and suggest other strategic choices without any specific spatial reference (focusing on society, innovation or business models) (Angelidou, 2014). However, when the focus is on governance, authors such as Meijer and Bolivar (2015) align themselves with the ideas of Ben Letaifa (2015) and Colldahl et al. (2013). Meijer and Bolivar (2015) classify Smart City definitions in terms of technology, human resources and collaboration, incorporating a fourth option that combines the three together in a holistic approach. According to this last perspective, urban developments should consider the interrelations between infrastructure, society and institutions. Many authors apply this concept of holistic Smart City in their research proposals (Alawadhi et al., 2012; Caragliu, Del Bo, & Nijkamp, 2011; Chourabi et al., 2012; Fernández-Güell, Collado-Lara, Guzmán-Araña, & Fernández-Añez, 2016; Giffinger et al., 2007; Leydesdorff & Deakin, 2010). Basically, two main approaches can be identified among Smart City scientists and practitioners. On the one hand, the scientific literature seeks to go beyond sector-specific approaches by proposing a comprehensive conceptualisation of the Smart City; and on the other hand, Smart City initiatives are developed though sector-based initiatives and projects in one or a few specific areas (Fernández-Güell et al., 2016; Mattoni, Gugliermetti, & Bisegna, 2015). The implementation of Smart Cities is still related to these sector-specific and partial understanding, in part because of the limitations of governance and financing tools. It is therefore necessary to bridge the gap between the theoretical comprehensive perspective and the sector-wide implementation of the Smart City concept.