Track 8: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities, Cities and Regions
The term ‘smart city’ has become synonymous with innovation in urban areas. Over the past decades, scholars, the private sector and international institutions have explored the potential of implementing digital technologies in urban spaces to deliver services, improve the economy, and make cities a better place to work and live. Despite significant developments, many implemented solutions are technology-driven, while the human-centric approach continues to receive insufficient attention. In this regard, some challenges must be overcome to put the people at the centre of smart city development, prioritising humanity, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability to leave no one behind in the digital transformation. It is also necessary to connect the smart cities’ approach to the New Urban Agenda and the climate emergency to develop concrete recommendations for regional and local governments. Moreover, contextualised and adaptive solutions must be created, as cities vary significantly across countries and regions.
This Track calls for papers that discuss how human-centric, secure, and resilient solutions can be integrated into smart city efforts, such as local e-governance, digital infrastructures, local innovation systems, rural domains, traditional governance, and indigenous knowledge systems. Furthermore, it addresses the development of smart city and region policy models and technology innovations in the areas of energy, transportation, health, education, public safety, structures, natural environment, business and community-based infrastructure resilience, and urban informatics. Smart grids, sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics, as well as smart devices, their novel use in public management and cybersecurity measures that protect critical infrastructure and ensure safe and reliable urban management.
