sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Urban Innovations: Trends and Technologies Shaping Smart Cities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 8798

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China
Interests: european and comparative politics; public administration; public policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Government and International Studies (GIS), Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Interests: smart cities; sustainability; public policy; security; European politics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term ‘Smart City’ has been used in different contexts since the 1990s, when it was first employed in the United States to describe the use of ICT (information and communication technology) applications in modern urban infrastructures (Gibson, 1992). The different descriptions of “smart” have resulted in numerous similar terms such as digital city, intelligent city, knowledge city, and wired city, in an attempt to specify this “fuzzy concept”—a description used by various scholars (Albino et al., 2015; Camero and Alba, 2019; Caragliu et al., 2011; Cocchia, 2014; Patrão et al., 2020; Sharifi, 2019). The concept remains a contested one, and there is still no general agreement and standard definition of the term “smart city” (Albino et al., 2015; Lai and Cole, 2022; Patrão et al., 2020; Sharifi, 2019).

This Special Issue calls for papers that deal with Smart Cities: Challenges, Trends, and Technologies. Papers are welcome from established and new researchers who are interested in smart cities and urban governance. The themes include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Smart governance foundations, models, frameworks, and principles;
  • Open governance, participatory decision-making, and accountability;
  • Security, privacy, and identity issues in smart cities;
  • Citizen-centricity and citizen-driven solutions for smart cities;
  • Sustainable and sustainability solutions for smart cities;
  • Sectoral discussions around the smart city (e.g., energy, mobility, health);
  • Smart government and e-governance;
  • Trust, transparency, and smart cities;
  • Narratives of the smart city;
  • Comparative studies at global, national, and city levels between China and other countries.

The smart city lies somewhere between a material fact and an urban narrative (Cole and Tran, 2022). It is primarily material, in the sense that it refers to precise policy programs and infrastructure associated with the digitalization of public services. Most definitions converge towards understanding the smart city as one that uses different types of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote the city in the digital world and improve public services (economy, mobility, environment, people, and living) and governance. The smart city is also an urban narrative, a city vision beyond the description of a set of technical programs. By combining material and more constructed approaches, this Special Issue breaks new ground in the comparative understanding of smart city dynamics.

Prof. Dr. Alistair Cole
Dr. Dionysios Stivas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • trust
  • smart city
  • transparency
  • co-production
  • sustainability
  • e-governance
  • energy
  • mobility
  • health

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

34 pages, 4522 KiB  
Article
Action Plans Study: Principles of Green Chemistry, Sustainable Development, and Smart Cities
by Jessica R. P. Oliveira, Angelo M. Tusset, Dana I. Andrade, Jose M. Balthazar, Regina N. Pagani and Giane G. Lenzi
Sustainability 2024, 16(18), 8041; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188041 - 14 Sep 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3342
Abstract
The sustainability of cities is a challenge due to the growth, functioning, and needs of the population. In this context, the concept of the smart city has gained prominence worldwide in the last decades. In Brazil, it has also drawn attention driven by [...] Read more.
The sustainability of cities is a challenge due to the growth, functioning, and needs of the population. In this context, the concept of the smart city has gained prominence worldwide in the last decades. In Brazil, it has also drawn attention driven by technological advances and the search for innovative solutions to urban challenges. Several different reports were created aiming to assess and categorize the advancement of cities in this regard. Some of them established their own indicators for this evaluation, whereas others are based on standards ISO 37120 and ISO 37122. The focus of this study revolves around the examination of indicators presently utilized, which may be influenced by initiatives grounded in the principles of green chemistry (PGCs). Furthermore, it explores how these principles can aid in the realization of the targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth by the United Nations. Two case studies are presented, the first pointing out how PGCs and SDGs can correlate with smart city reporting indicators. The second is a case study centered on the Brazilian city of Curitiba (PR). We aim to exemplify how the city’s action plans underscore the significance of synergy among the principles of green chemistry, the objectives of sustainable development, and indicators for smart cities. Assessing how chemically green a city can be is a relevant argument for future industrial installations and stakeholders and the influence of this index on the quality of life of its population. Such an approach not only fosters innovation and efficiency but also fosters environmental stewardship, thus contributing to overall sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Innovations: Trends and Technologies Shaping Smart Cities)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 4373 KiB  
Article
Demand-Responsive Transport for Urban Mobility: Integrating Mobile Data Analytics to Enhance Public Transportation Systems
by Sandra Melo, Rui Gomes, Reza Abbasi and Amílcar Arantes
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4367; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114367 - 22 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4748
Abstract
Transport-on-demand services, such as demand-responsive transport (DRT), involve a flexible transportation service that offers convenient and personalised mobility choices for public transport users. Integrating DRT with mobile data and data analytics enhances understanding of travel patterns and allows the development of improved algorithms [...] Read more.
Transport-on-demand services, such as demand-responsive transport (DRT), involve a flexible transportation service that offers convenient and personalised mobility choices for public transport users. Integrating DRT with mobile data and data analytics enhances understanding of travel patterns and allows the development of improved algorithms to support design-optimised services. This study introduces a replicable framework for DRT that employs an on-demand transport simulator and routing algorithm. This framework is supported by a mobile data set, enabling a more accurate service design grounded on actual demand data. Decision-makers can use this framework to understand traffic patterns better and test a DRT solution before implementing it in the actual world. A case study was conducted in Porto, Portugal, to demonstrate its practicality and proof of concept. Results show that the DRT solution required 135% fewer stops and travelled 81% fewer kilometres than the existing fixed-line service. Findings highlight the potential of this data-driven framework for urban public transportation systems to improve key performance metrics in required buses, energy consumption, travelled distance, and stop frequency, all while maintaining the number of served passengers. Under specific circumstances, embracing this approach can offer a more efficient, user-centric, and environmentally sustainable urban transportation service. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Innovations: Trends and Technologies Shaping Smart Cities)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop