The world is amid a massive wave of urban growth and rural depopulation, generating opportunities but also problems and challenges. Digital technologies offer significant capabilities for addressing and managing them and making cities, regions, and communities smarter and more sustainable in social, economic, and environmental terms. It is noted that residents of both urban and rural communities and their surrounding environments are increasingly connected through intelligent or smart technologies. This offers a higher likelihood of improved wellbeing and prosperity while challenges at the complex intersection of technology and society emerge. This Track aims at exploring how society is managing and dealing with urban challenges by exploiting the capabilities offered by digital technologies in search of innovative solutions leading to a better quality of life, economic development, and sustainability. This Track explores the opportunities, challenges, and implications of smart digital initiatives in areas such as transportation, health and education, urban and environment-friendly planning, energy efficiency, digital infrastructures, entrepreneurship, as well as democratic processes, governance, and transparency at a community, local, regional and even national cross-border level.
#1 - Digital empowerment of governance system innovation in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area urban agglomeration | Mengqi Du, Yifen Yin, Qingyun Chen (Macau Polytechnic University, China) [remote presentation]
#2 - Bridging the digital divide for rural elderly populations in public service delivery: a case study in China | Xinli Hu, Chenxiao Liu, Xuan Zhou, Hao Yu (Independent Researchers, China)[withdrawn]#3 - Piloting smart city solutions in very small, small and medium-sized municipalities: the Estonian case study | Lill Sarv, Ralf-Martin Soe (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia)
#4 - The influence of institutional pressures on urban governance models: a case study in a smart cross-border region in Brazil and Argentina | Rosiane A Palacios, Edimara Mezzomo Luciano (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil); Gabriela Viale Pereira (University for Continuing Education Krems, Austria)
#5 - Foreseeing the impact of the proposed AI Act on the sustainability and safety of critical infrastructures | Francesco Sovrano (Università di Bologna, Italy); Giulio Masetti (CNR-ISTI, Italy) [remote presentation]
