This book examines the introduction of smart technologies into public administrations and the organizational issues caused by these implementations, and the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to rationalize and improve government, transform governance and organizational issues, and address economic, social, and environmental challenges. Cities are increasingly using new technologies in the delivery of public sector services and in the improvement of government transparency, business-led urban development, and urban sustainability. The book will examine specific smart projects that cities are embracing to improve transparency, efficiency, sustainability, mobility, and whether all cities are prepared to implement smart technologies and the incentives for promoting implementation. This focus on the smart technologies applied to public sector entities will be of interest to academics, researchers, policy-makers, public managers, international organizations and technical experts involved in and responsible for the governance, development and design of Smart Cities.

This book investigates the role of smart cities in the broader context of urban innovation and e-government, identifies what a smart city is in practice and highlights their importance to the welfare of society. The book offers specific, measurable, and action-oriented public sector planning and management principles and ideas for smart governance in the era of global urbanization and innovation to help with the challenges in maintaining the democratic system of checks and balances as well as the division of powers in a highly interconnected world. The book will be of interest researchers, practitioners, students, and public sector IT professionals that work within innovation management, public administration, urban technologies and urban innovation, and public local administration studies.

There has been much attention paid to the idea of Smart Cities as researchers have sought to define and characterize the main aspects of the concept, including the role of creative industries in urban growth, the importance of social capital in urban development, and the role of urban sustainability. This book develops a critical view of the Smart City concept, the incentives and role of governments in promoting the development of Smart Cities and the analysis of experiences of e-government projects addressed to enhance Smart Cities. This book further analyzes the perceptions of stakeholders, such as public managers or politicians, regarding the incentives and role of governments in Smart Cities and the critical analysis of e-government projects to promote Smart Cities’ development, making the book valuable to academics, researchers, policy-makers, public managers, international organizations and technical experts in understanding the role of government to enhance Smart Cities’ projects.

This edited volume discusses smart cities and smart governance within the framework of the 22nd century sustainable city. Written by members of the Smart Cities Smart Government Research Practice Consortium (SCSGRPC), an international multidisciplinary consortium of researchers and practitioners devoted to studying smart governance, this book provides a foundation for global efforts to envision and prepare for the next generation city by advancing understanding of the nature of and need for novel policies, new administrative practices, and enabling technologies required to advance urban governance, governments, and infrastructure. The chapters focus on practical models and approaches, theoretical frameworks, policy models, emerging issues, questions and research problems, as well as including case studies from different parts of the world. A valuable addition to the body of knowledge on smartness in urban government, this book will be of use to researchers in the fields of public administration, political science, information science, and information systems, as well as policy makers and government officials working on implementing smart technology in their cities.

As smart cities are rapidly developing, it is vital that they are built on a combination of support and active participation of self-decisive, independent, and aware citizens by ensuring strong human capital, social capital, and information and communications technology infrastructure. Due to this evolution across the globe, it is critical to examine how others are working to create smarter cities in order to learn and revolutionize the way cities are planned and executed. Planning and Designing Smart Cities in Developing Nations explores smart city implementation in developing countries by highlighting the challenges and opportunities of smart cities and showcasing various developments and accomplishments and presents a framework to implement strategic plans for smart development. Covering topics such as smart technologies and social capital, it is ideal for policymakers, economic and development professionals, city planners and designers, government officials, academicians, professors, and students.

Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be “smart enough,” using technology to promote democracy and equity. Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will relieve congestion, restore democracy, prevent crime, and improve public services. In The Smart Enough City, Ben Green warns against seeing the city only through the lens of technology; taking an exclusively technical view of urban life will lead to cities that appear smart but under the surface are rife with injustice and inequality. He proposes instead that cities strive to be “smart enough”: to embrace technology as a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other forms of social change—but not to value technology as an end in itself. In a technology-centric smart city, self-driving cars have the run of downtown and force out pedestrians, civic engagement is limited to requesting services through an app, police use algorithms to justify and perpetuate racist practices, and governments and private companies surveil public space to control behavior. Green describes smart city efforts gone wrong but also smart enough alternatives, attainable with the help of technology but not reducible to technology: a livable city, a democratic city, a just city, a responsible city, and an innovative city. By recognizing the complexity of urban life rather than merely seeing the city as something to optimize, these Smart Enough Cities successfully incorporate technology into a holistic vision of justice and equity.

This proceedings book presents a comprehensive view of “smart” technologies and perspectives of their application in various areas of economic activity. The authors of the book combined the results of the cutting-edge research on the topic of “smart” technologies in the digital economy and Industry 4.0 and developed a unified scientific concept. The current experience has been considered, and the prospects for the application of “smart” technologies in society to promote social advance have been identified. “Smart” technologies in public administration and law, as well as the experience in development of e-government, have been examined. “Smart” technologies in business activity have been studied, and the transition from digital business to business 4.0 has been justified. The book contains the collection of the best works following the results of the 13th International Research-to-Practice Conference “Smart Technologies” for society, state and economy which was run by the Institute of Scientific Communications (ISC) and was held on July 2–3, 2020. The target audience of this book includes researchers investigating fundamental and applied problems of development of “smart” technologies, as well as concerned parties outside the academic community, in particular, representatives of the digital society, high-tech business entities and officials regulating the digital economy and Industry 4.0.