Search Results (594)

Hospital in the Home (HITH) programs are emerging as a key pillar of smart city healthcare infrastructure, leveraging technology to extend care beyond traditional hospital walls. The global healthcare sector has been conceptualizing the notion of a care without walls hospital, also called HITH, where virtual care takes precedence to address the multifaceted needs of an increasingly aging population grappling with a substantial burden of chronic disease. HITH programs have the potential to significantly reduce hospital bed occupancy, enabling hospitals to better manage the ever-increasing demand for inpatient care. Although many health providers and hospitals have established their own HITH programs, there is a lack of research that provides healthcare executives and HITH program managers with management models and frameworks for such initiatives. There is also a lack of research that provides strategies for improving HITH management in the health sector. To fill this gap, the current study ran a systematic literature review to explore state-of-the-art with regard to this topic. Out of 2631 articles in the pool of this systematic review, 20 articles were deemed to meet the eligibility criteria for the study. After analyzing these studies, nine management models were extracted, which were then categorized into three categories, namely, governance models, general models, and virtual models. Moreover, this study found 23 strategies and categorized them into five groups, namely, referral support, external support, care model support, technical support, and clinical team support. Finally, implications of findings for practitioners are carefully provided. These findings provide healthcare executives and HITH managers with practical frameworks for selecting appropriate management models and implementing evidence-based strategies to optimize program effectiveness, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes while addressing the growing demand for home-based care. Full article

In the context of global climate governance and the green transition, digital infrastructure serves as a critical enabler of resource allocation in the digital economy, offering strategic value in tackling synergistic pollution and carbon reduction challenges. Using panel data from 280 prefecture-level cities, this study employs a multiperiod difference-in-differences (DID) approach, leveraging smart city pilot policies as a quasinatural experiment, to assess how digital infrastructure affects urban synergistic pollution-carbon mitigation (SPCM). The empirical results show that digital infrastructure increases the urban SPCM index by 1.5%, indicating statistically significant effects. Compared with energy and income effects, digital infrastructure can influence this synergistic effect through indirect channels such as the energy effect, economic agglomeration effect, and income effect, with the economic agglomeration effect accounting for a larger share of the total effect. Additionally, fixed-asset investment has a nonlinear moderating effect on this relationship, with diminishing marginal returns on emission reduction when investment exceeds a threshold. Heterogeneity tests reveal greater impacts in eastern, nonresource-based, and environmentally regulated cities. This study expands the theory of collaborative environmental governance from the perspective of new infrastructure, providing a theoretical foundation for establishing a long-term digital technology-driven mechanism for SPCM. Full article

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, and blockchain technologies within the digital economy presents transformative opportunities for promoting low-carbon urban development. However, a systematic understanding of how these digital innovations influence urban carbon mitigation remains limited. This study addresses this gap by proposing two research questions (RQs): (1) What are the key success factors for artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain in urban carbon emission reduction? (2) How do these technologies interact and support the transition to low-carbon cities? To answer these questions, the study employs a hybrid methodological framework combining the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) techniques. The data were collected through structured expert questionnaires, enabling the identification and hierarchical analysis of twelve critical success factors (CSFs). Grounded in sustainability transitions theory and institutional theory, the CSFs are categorized into three dimensions: (1) digital infrastructure and technological applications; (2) digital transformation of industry and economy; (3) sustainable urban governance. The results reveal that e-commerce and sustainable logistics, the adoption of the circular economy, and cross-sector collaboration are the most influential drivers of digital-enabled decarbonization, while foundational elements such as smart energy systems and digital infrastructure act as key enablers. The DEMATEL-ISM approach facilitates a system-level understanding of the causal relationships and strategic priorities among the CSFs, offering actionable insights for urban planners, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to sustainable digital transformation and carbon neutrality. Full article

Urban transport is a key driver of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, making its decarbonization essential to achieving EU climate neutrality targets. This study examines how European strategies, such as the Green Deal, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, and the Fit for 55 package, are reflected in Romania’s transport policies, with a focus on implementation challenges and urban outcomes in Bucharest. By combining policy analysis, stakeholder mapping, and comparative mobility indicators, the paper critically assesses Bucharest’s current reliance on private vehicles, underperforming public transport satisfaction, and limited progress on active mobility. The study develops a context-sensitive reform framework for the Romanian capital, grounded in transferable lessons from Western and Central European cities. It emphasizes coordinated metropolitan governance, public trust-building, phased car-restraint measures, and investment alignment as key levers. Rather than merely cataloguing policy intentions, the paper offers practical recommendations informed by systemic governance barriers and public attitudes. The findings will contribute to academic debates on urban mobility transitions in post-socialist cities and provide actionable insights for policymakers seeking to operationalize EU decarbonization goals at the metropolitan scale. Full article

Consumer-accessible and user-friendly smart products such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, have become widely used, adaptable, and acceptable devices to observe, assess, measure, and explore urban and natural environments. A drone’s relatively low cost and flexibility in the level of expertise required to operate it has enabled users from novice to industry professionals to adapt a malleable technology to various disciplines. This review examines the academic literature and maps how drones are currently being used in 93 rural and regional city councils in New South Wales, Australia. Through a systematic review of the academic literature and scrutiny of current drone use in these councils using publicly available information found on council websites, findings reveal potential uses of drone technology for local governments who want to engage with smart technology devices. We looked at how drones were being used in the management of the council’s environment; health and safety initiatives; infrastructure; planning; social and community programmes; and waste and recycling. These findings suggest that drone technology is increasingly being utilised in rural and regional areas. While the focus is on rural and regional New South Wales, a review of the academic literature and local council websites provides a snapshot of drone use examples that holds global relevance for local councils in urban and remote areas seeking to incorporate drone technology into their daily practice of city, town, or region governance. Full article

Rapid urbanization and escalating disaster risks necessitate resilient urban governance systems. Smart city initiatives that leverage digital technologies—such as the internet of things (IoT), big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI)—demonstrate transformative potential in enhancing emergency management capabilities. However, empirical evidence regarding their causal impact and underlying mechanisms remains limited, particularly in developing economies. Drawing on panel data from 275 Chinese prefecture-level cities over the period 2006–2021 and using China’s smart city pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study applies a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) approach to rigorously assess the effects of smart city construction on emergency management capabilities. Results reveal that smart city construction produced a statistically significant improvement in emergency management capabilities, which remained robust after conducting multiple sensitivity checks and controlling for potential confounding policies. The benefits exhibit notable heterogeneity: emergency management capability improvements are most pronounced in central China and in cities at the extremes of population size—megacities (>10 million residents) and small cities (<1 million residents)—while effects remain marginal in medium-sized and eastern cities. Crucially, mechanism analysis reveals that digital technology application fully mediates 86.7% of the total effect, whereas factor allocation efficiency exerts only a direct, non-mediating influence. These findings suggest that smart cities primarily enhance emergency management capabilities through digital enablers, with effectiveness contingent upon regional infrastructure development and urban scale. Policy priorities should therefore emphasize investments in digital infrastructure, interagency data integration, and targeted capacity-building strategies tailored to central and western regions as well as smaller cities. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the future trajectories of last-mile delivery (LMD), and their implications for sustainable urban logistics and smart city planning. Through a Delphi-based scenario analysis targeting the year 2030, this research draws on inputs from a two-round Delphi study with 52 experts representing logistics, academia, and government. Four key thematic areas were explored: consumer demand and behavior, emerging delivery technologies, innovative delivery services, and regulatory frameworks. The projections were structured using fuzzy c-means clustering, and analyzed through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), supporting a systemic understanding of innovation adoption in urban logistics systems. The findings offer strategic insights for municipal planners, policymakers, logistics service providers, and e-commerce stakeholders, helping align infrastructure development and regulatory planning with the evolving needs of last-mile logistics. This approach contributes to advancing resilient, low-emission, and inclusive smart city ecosystems that align with global sustainability goals, particularly those outlined in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Full article

This study conducts a comprehensive systematic review of the economic impact of Digital Twin (DT) technology within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, following the PRISMA methodology. While DT adoption has been accelerated by advancements in Building Information Modelling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics, significant challenges persist—most notably, high initial investment costs and integration complexities. Synthesising the literature from 2016 onwards, this review identifies sector-specific barriers, regulatory burdens, and a lack of standardisation as key factors constituting DT implementation costs. Despite these hurdles, DTs demonstrate strong potential for enhancing construction productivity, optimising lifecycle asset management, and enabling predictive maintenance, ultimately reducing operational expenditures and improving long-term financial performance. Case studies reveal cost efficiencies achieved through DTs in modular construction, energy optimisation, and infrastructure management. However, limited financial resources and digital skills continue to constrain the uptake across the sector, with various extents of impact. This paper calls for the development of unified standards, innovative public–private funding mechanisms, and strategic collaborations to unlock and utilise DTs’ full economic value. It also recommends that future research explore theoretical frameworks addressing governance, data infrastructure, and digital equity—particularly through conceptualising DT-related data as public assets or collective goods in the context of smart cities and networked infrastructure systems. Full article

Assessing a city’s level of smartness according to global indices is a relatively new area of investigation. It is useful in encouraging a rethinking of urban digital strategies, although the different approaches to global smart city rankings have been subject to criticism. This paper highlights the methodological features of constructing the Smart City Index (SCI) from the IMD (International Institute for Management Development) based on residents’ assessments, their satisfaction with electronic services, and their perception of the priority of urban infrastructure areas. The Central European cities of the Visegrad region (Prague/Czech Republic, Budapest/Hungary, Bratislava/Slovakia, Warsaw and Krakow/Poland) were chosen as the basis for an in-depth analysis. The architectonics, i.e., the internal system of constructing and calculating city rankings by SCI, is analyzed. A comparative analysis of the technology indicators (e-services) in five cities of the Visegrad region, presented in the SCI, showed the smart features of each city. The progressive and regressive trends in the dynamics of smartness in the cities in the Visegrad region were identified in five urban spheres indicated in the Index: Government, Activity, Health and Safety, Mobility, and Opportunities. This also made it possible to identify certain methodological gaps in the SCI in establishing interdependencies between the data on the residents’ perception of the priority of areas of life in a particular city and the residents’ level of satisfaction with electronic services. In particular, the structural indicators “Affordable housing” and “Green spaces” are not supported by e-services. This research aims to bridge this methodological gap by proposing a model for evaluating the e-service according to the degree of coverage of different spheres of life in the city. The application of the project, as well as cross-sectoral and systemic approaches, made it possible to develop basic models for assessing the value of e-services. These models can be implemented by municipalities to assess and monitor e-services, as well as to select IT projects and elaborate strategies for smart sustainable city development. Full article

Through the energy conversion of building skins, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, the core carrier of the smart city energy system, encourages the conversion of buildings into energy-generating units. However, the decommissioning of the module faces the challenge of physical dismantling and financial environmental damage because of the close coupling with the building itself. As the first tranche of BIPV projects will enter the end of their life cycle, it is urgent to establish a multi-dimensional collaborative recycling mechanism that meets the characteristics of building pv systems. Based on the theory of reverse logistics network, the research focuses on optimizing the reverse logistics network during the decommissioning stage of BIPV modules, and proposes a dual-objective optimization model that considers both cost and carbon emissions for BIPV. Meanwhile, the multi-level recycling network which covers “building points-regional transfer stations-specialized distribution centers” is designed in the research, the Pareto solution set is solved by the improved NSGA-II algorithm, a “1 + 1” du-al-core construction model of distribution center and transfer station is developed, so as to minimize the total cost and life cycle carbon footprint of the logistics network. At the same time, the research also reveals the driving effect of government reward and punishment policies on the collaborative behavior of enterprise recycling, and provides methodological support for the construction of a closed-loop supply chain of “PV-building-environment” symbiosis. The study concludes that in the process of constructing smart city energy system, the systematic control of resource circulation and environmental risks through the optimization of reverse logistics network can provide technical support for the sustainable development of smart city. Full article

Smart cities leverage digital marketing to promote sustainability and build a distinctive global branding. Despite its growing significance, the role digital marketing in smart city development remains underexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by employing bibliometric analysis of 1908 articles indexed in the Scopus database (2000–2024), using the Bibliometrix R-Studio (version 1.4.1743) and VOSviewer (version 1.6.20). The analysis reveals two thematic clusters: (1) “Digital Innovation and Sustainability”, which emphasizes technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data for energy efficiency and green urban development; and (2) “Governance and Policy”, which highlights digital marketing’s role in enabling participatory governance, citizen engagement, and inclusive urban policies. Findings underscore that digital marketing is not only a strategic communication channel but also a driver of sustainable urban transformation. By synthesizing insights from urban planning, technology, and sustainability, this paper provides a novel perspective on the intersection of digital marketing and smart cities. The results provide valuable guidance for policymakers, city planners, and researchers to harness digital marketing in promoting sustainability and further develop the smart city concept. Full article

As part of its modernisation and economic diversification policies, Saudi Arabia is building smart, sustainable cities intended to improve quality of life and meet environmental goals. However, involving the public in urban planning remains complex, with traditional methods often proving expensive, time-consuming, and inaccessible to many groups. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into public participation may help to address these limitations. This study explores whether Saudi residents are ready to engage with AI-driven tools in urban planning, how they prefer to interact with them, and what ethical concerns may arise. Using a quantitative, survey-based approach, the study collected data from 232 Saudi residents using non-probability stratified sampling. The survey assessed demographic influences on AI readiness, preferred engagement methods, and perceptions of ethical risks. The results showed a strong willingness among participants (200 respondents, 86%)—especially younger and university-educated respondents—to engage through AI platforms. Visual tools such as image and video analysis were the most preferred (96 respondents, 41%), while chatbots were less favoured (16 respondents, 17%). However, concerns were raised about privacy (76 respondents, 33%), bias (52 respondents, 22%), and over-reliance on technology (84 respondents, 36%). By exploring the intersection of generative AI and participatory urban governance, this study contributes directly to the discourse on inclusive smart city development. The research also offers insights into how AI-driven public engagement tools can be integrated into urban planning workflows to enhance the design, governance, and performance of the built environment. The findings suggest that AI has the potential to improve inclusivity and responsiveness in urban planning, but that its success depends on public trust, ethical safeguards, and the thoughtful design of accessible, user-friendly engagement platforms. Full article

Urban traffic congestion poses persistent challenges to mobility, public safety, and governance efficiency in metropolitan areas. This study proposes an intelligent traffic flow forecasting framework based on an extended Long Short-Term Memory (xLSTM) model, specifically designed for real-time congestion prediction and proactive police dispatch support. Utilizing a real-world dataset collected from over 300 vehicle detector (VD) sensors, the proposed model integrates vehicle volume, speed, and lane occupancy data at five-minute intervals. Methodologically, the xLSTM model incorporates matrix-based memory cells and exponential gating mechanisms to enhance spatio-temporal learning capabilities. Model performance is evaluated using multiple metrics, including congestion classification accuracy, F1-score, MAE, RMSE, and inference latency. The xLSTM model achieves a congestion prediction accuracy of 87.3%, an F1-score of 0.882, and an average inference latency of 41.2 milliseconds—outperforming baseline LSTM, GRU, and Transformer-based models in both accuracy and speed. These results validate the system’s suitability for real-time deployment in police control centers, where timely prediction of traffic congestion enables anticipatory patrol allocation and dynamic signal adjustment. By bridging AI-driven forecasting with public safety operations, this research contributes a validated and scalable approach to intelligent transportation governance, enhancing the responsiveness of urban mobility systems and advancing smart city initiatives. Full article

Indonesia’s commitment to digital transformation is exemplified by the Gerakan 100 Smart City program, aiming to enhance public sector performance through technology integration. This study examines how information technology capability and 21st century digital skills influence public sector performance, mediated by managerial digital readiness and moderated by digital leadership. Grounded in Dynamic Capability Theory and Upper Echelon Theory, data from 1380 civil servants were analyzed using PLS-SEM via SmartPLS 4.1.0.9. Results show that both IT capability and digital skills significantly improve managerial digital readiness, which in turn positively impacts public sector performance. Managerial readiness mediates the effect of both predictors on performance, while digital leadership strengthens these relationships. Theoretically, this study frames managerial digital readiness as a dynamic capability shaped by leadership cognition. Practically, it highlights the importance of aligning infrastructure, skills, and leadership development to advance digital governance. Future research should consider longitudinal, multilevel, and qualitative designs to deepen insights. Full article

This paper presents an integrated Smart City platform that combines digital twin technology, advanced machine learning, and a private blockchain network to enhance data-driven decision making and operational efficiency in both public enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The proposed cloud-based business intelligence model automates Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes, enables real-time analytics, and secures data integrity and transparency through blockchain-enabled audit trails. By implementing the proposed solution, Smart City and public service providers can significantly improve operational efficiency, including a 15% reduction in costs and a 12% decrease in fuel consumption for waste management, as well as increased citizen engagement and transparency in Smart City governance. The digital twin component facilitated scenario simulations and proactive resource management, while the participatory governance module empowered citizens through transparent, immutable records of proposals and voting. This study also discusses technical, organizational, and regulatory challenges, such as data integration, scalability, and privacy compliance. The results indicate that the proposed approach offers a scalable and sustainable model for Smart City transformation, fostering citizen trust, regulatory compliance, and measurable environmental and social benefits. Full article