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This chapter investigates the geographical variations and approaches that shape the implementation of smart city projects on a global scale. Recognizing the significant influence of contextual factors on smart city initiatives, this chapter aims to comprehend the dynamics that drive the objectives and approaches of smart city projects across different countries. This chapter provides an overview of the strategic and geographical factors that impact smart city implementation, considering organizational drivers and practices, such as the Hofstede model in context. It explores the role of citizen-based, technology-based, and decision-making-based development in smart city implementation. Moreover, this chapter examines the strategic, cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical differences that influence smart city projects worldwide. It analyzes the geographical influence and internal drivers of smart city projects, focusing on Europe, North America, Latin America, and East and South Asia. This analysis offers insights into diverse approaches to smart city development, encompassing top-down and bottom-up approaches. By examining various perspectives and experiences from smart city initiatives worldwide, this chapter sheds light on the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing smart city strategies in different contexts.

This chapter concludes the book by addressing the complexities and challenges associated with smart cities. Despite the widespread enthusiasm and progressive policies surrounding smart cities, navigating this world remains a desirable yet complex challenge. Drawing on existing literature, this final chapter serves as a synthesis of the key points covered throughout the book and offers practical guidelines for navigating the landscape of smart cities. This chapter provides valuable tips and insights for both citizens and policymakers, recognizing their pivotal roles in shaping the future of smart cities. Additionally, it delves into the current challenges faced by smart city initiatives and discusses potential future directions. Emphasizing the need for ongoing adaptation and innovation, this chapter highlights the importance of overcoming obstacles and capitalizing on opportunities in the rapidly evolving digital age. By offering a comprehensive overview and practical recommendations, this chapter aims to equip readers with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of smart cities effectively. It concludes the book on a forward-looking note, emphasizing the dynamic nature of smart city development and the continuous need for adaptation and innovation.

Building on new trends in tourism and smart city governance, this study aims to examine the degree of interrelation between stakeholder networks involved in tourism governance and smart city development. A model describing the transition towards smart tourism city governance is proposed.

The proposed model is tested through a multiple case study of seven European cities. This choice of sample makes the study highly representative. Data collection is based on an exhaustive search and analysis of available data on smart city initiatives, destination management organisations and tourism plans. Social network analysis using Gephi software is used to build stakeholder networks.

Analysis of the stakeholder networks that shape tourism governance and smart initiatives in several cities reveals a disconnection between the two types of networks. The results show limited progress towards the expected synergies of true smart tourism city governance.

Theoretically, the study contributes to the debate on new forms of governance for the complex evolution of urban tourism. In practice, the relationship between tourism governance and smart city initiatives needs to be redefined to achieve synergies that increase the inclusiveness and efficiency of urban tourism policies.

This study examines the under-researched topic of the interrelation between tourism governance and smart city initiatives. By comparing the networks of actors resulting from these two processes, it assesses the extent to which this interrelation helps the emergence of new governance models (smart tourism city governance).

This chapter focuses on the competitive outcomes of present-day smart cities. It explores how cities can leverage economic and internal advancements to gain a competitive edge over other cities, and attract and retain both internal and external users. In the 21st century, cities engage in a global competition to attract citizens and businesses alike. The attractiveness and competitiveness of cities are directly linked to their ability to offer essential services that support growth opportunities, build economic value, and establish a competitive differentiation. Cities with advanced and innovative environments are more likely to maintain leading positions in an increasingly globalized world. Building upon the previous discussions on urban and economic outcomes, this chapter sheds light on the competitive outcomes of smart cities and the implications of global competition and city attractiveness for internal and external users. This chapter begins by examining the role of marketing innovation and internationalization in driving smart city development and how urban ecosystems and digital technologies can enhance city attractiveness. It emphasizes the importance of being a smart destination for both internal and external users and how it can empower and shape interactions with citizens, talent, companies, and tourists. Additionally, this chapter analyzes the geographical differences in smart city strategies and explores the competitive landscape of smart cities within and across nations. Finally, it discusses the limitations of competitive urbanism, along with the challenges and future prospects of smart city development. This analysis is supported by data and published works from international journals. Overall, this chapter aims to comprehensively understand how cities can leverage smart technology and strategies to enhance their national and global positioning.

The widespread lockdown restrictions brought by the global COVID-19 epidemic inculcated a culture of “work-from-home”. However, most rural areas lack reliable and effective community amenities including transportation, health and education, thereby impeding healthy living and productive employment. Therefore, the underlying goal of this research is to investigate the development of smart infrastructure (SI) in non-urban areas. However, governments' resource limitations must be addressed to develop SI, which urges the research on the potential for public-private partnerships (PPP) to supplement public sector resources when necessary.

This paper examined and evaluated the “benefits and enablers” and “barriers” to deploying PPPs to create SI in non-urban areas, using a thorough literature review, five expert interviews and analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based questionnaire responses. The AHP technique and content analysis were used to analyse the results and generate the conclusions.

The availability of a favourable investment climate and legal framework were identified as the significant factors among the “benefits and enablers” of adopting PPP in SI developments in non-urban areas, while low community acceptance of the private sector involvement, and community culture and values were identified as the significant factors among the “barriers”. These highlight the significance of removing barriers connected to community culture and “values”.

The findings and conclusions of this study provide a strong foundation to support the growth of SI in non-urban settings, facilitating more sustainable development that is more evenly distributed in the post-COVID-19 future.

This chapter examines the six smart city dimensions that serve as pillars in smart city projects. These dimensions are crucial in the development and evaluation of smart city initiatives, representing key areas for consideration. This chapter offers a detailed analysis of the smart city ecosystem, focusing on the governance, environment, people, living, mobility, and economy dimensions. It challenges the prevailing media portrayal of the smart city strategy and engages in the current academic debate surrounding these dimensions. This chapter defines, discusses, and explains each dimension, incorporating case studies from cities such as Copenhagen, San Francisco, Lisbon, and Barcelona. It also includes interviews and factual data to highlight the internal implementation and objectives of the smart city within each dimension. This chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of the smart city ecosystem, its implementation, and the potential benefits and challenges associated with each dimension.

The article attempts to shed light on the social aspects of research that deal with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainable cities. The aim is to offer a global view of these facets' evolution and to provide information on people-centered smart cities.

The research is qualitative. A systematic bibliometric approach is a framework for the research. The unit of analysis is publications on SDGs and Smart Cities (SCs) indexed in Scopus. The authors used VOSviewer text mining functionality to construct co-occurrence networks of socially related critical terms extracted from textual data. The co-occurrence of keywords presents a valuable method and process for attaining in-depth analysis and fast comprehension of trends and linkages in articles from a holistic approach.

Social media, social sustainability and social capital are the three multifaceted social keywords that co-occur in SDGs and SCs. The paper provides a brief compendium of resources and frameworks to build a socially sustainable smart city.

The retrieval date was on 15 August 2019. The authors used the same search query for new papers released in 2019 and afterwards to update their findings. The authors collected 657 documents on SCs, compared to 2,975 documents about SDGs demonstrating that their findings are still trending in the same direction, emphasizing the importance of the research topic. SCs' social aspects are still chartered areas that require the attention to future research.

The authors’ decision to use two separate data sets for SCs and SDGs data files helps to provide a more comprehensive picture of the research landscape. It may identify areas where research is lacking or needs future research. The authors present an integrative agenda for a smart city to be socially sustainable. Innovative approaches to urban planning are required to empower the place and context and improve the users' satisfaction, where innovative solutions enable smart, sustainable and inclusive societies. Infrastructure governance is a critical keystone. It could guarantee that public investments contribute to sustainable urban development while enhancing city resilience, particularly in facing climate change and inclusive growth challenges.

International climate politics are gradually changing in terms of new and ground-breaking policies and decision-making spearheaded by national governments. The growing global demand to combat climate change reflects the current challenges the world is facing. India’s negotiations at United Nations Conference on Climate Change are based on “equity,” “historical responsibility” and the “polluter pays” agenda, until a shift in the voluntary reduction of carbon emissions takes place. The purpose of this study is to understand why India, a “deal breaker”, is seen as a “deal maker” in climate governance?

For a state like India, domestic preferences are equally important in introducing climate policies alongside its concerns over poverty reduction and economic development, which also stand with its sustainable development goals. This paper explains India’s decision-making using a two-level approach focusing on “domestic preferences.” This rationale is based on India’s historical background as well as new upcoming challenges.

This paper shows that India has both the domestic needs and long-term benefits of combating climate change to cut carbon emissions, which gives the responsibility primarily to domestic audiences and international societies.

This paper uses an international political lens to critically analyze India’s climate positions and politics from both domestic and international levels, demonstrating the importance of considering both short- and long-term goals. The outcome benefits not only the policymakers in India but also stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Against the background of the I50 paradigm, this paper queries in what ways blockchain and blockchain-based applications deployed in the smart city context facilitate the integration of the I50 paradigm in smart urban contexts.

A mixed methods approach is applied. First, by means of desk research and thematic literature review, a conceptual model integrating the I50 paradigm, smart city and blockchain-based solutions is built. Second, science mapping bibliometric analysis (SciMat) based on keywords’ co-occurrence is applied to a sample of 491 research articles to identify key domains of blockchain-based applications’ use in smart city. Third, a semi-systematic literature review complements insights gained through SciMat. Fourth, the findings are interpreted through the precepts of the conceptual model devised earlier.

The key blockchain-based applications in smart cities pertain to two domains, i.e. the foundational, service facilitation-oriented domain, including security (and safety), networks, computing, resource management and the service delivery-oriented domain, including mobility, energy and healthcare. Blockchain serves as the key building block for applications developed to deliver functions specific to each of the thus identified domains. A substantial layering of blockchain-based tools and applications is necessary to advance from the less to the more complex functional domains of the smart city.

At the conceptual level, the intricacies of the (making of the) I50 paradigm are discussed and a case for I50 – smart city – blockchain nexus is made. Easton’s input–output model as well as constructivism is referenced. At the empirical level, the key major domains of blockchain-based applications are discussed; those that bear the prospect of integrating the I50 paradigm in the smart city are highlighted. At the methodological level, a strategic move is made aimed at restoring the literature review’s role as subservient to the key line of exploration, to justify and ultimately support it, rather than to showcase the literature review as the ultimate purpose for itself.

By increasing the digitalization of commercial services citizens' expect more from public services. First of all, this study will strive to identify which problems citizens encounter when they use a complex public service: preparation of an application for a building permit. In the light of the popularity of omnichannel approaches, the study then explores how omni-channel could help to address the problems which have been identified.

We implement the first phases of an action design science research project. We collect data both from citizens and public agencies and frame them as transparency problems. These abstract problems are then addressed by an omnichannel service provision as an abstract solution. The abstract solution is then instantiated in a design in the form of a user scenario developed in collaboration with current and future public officials.

The analysis uncovers multiple transparency issues: it distinguishes between process, case, language, cross-channel and cost transparency. One root cause of the transparency issues observed is the lack of service transparency which defines the purpose and scope of a ser-vice. We therefore recommend defining a service-strategy before informational and technical aspects of an omnichannel approach can be implemented. Following this strategy, omnichannel offers public administrations unique opportunities to excel in citizens' service provision.

The study provides insights into how citizens view complex public services. For researchers, this study offers the conceptualization as transparency issues. Practitioners from the public administrations can also benefit from the concept and vision of omnichannel public services.