THE ESSENCE OF SMART CITIES

This theme will touch on the concept of smart cities, including the pillars of their characteristics and levels, and clarify their objectives.

12.3.1 THE CONCEPT OF SMART CITIES

The term “smart city” is called regional systems with creative levels that combine knowledge-based activities and institutions to develop education and creativity, and digital spaces that develop interaction. Schafer [3] defines the Smart City as a city that uses infonnation, technology, and communications (ITC) to improve the performance of areas as diverse as electricity, water use, parking, and traffic, and waste management.

Cities provide new ways to manage complexity, increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve quality of life. Smart cities collect and analyze data and use the information to improve infrastructure, invest wisely, and facilitate the lives of then populations [4].

While the focus group on sustainable smart cities (FG-SSC) defines smart city as an innovative city that uses ICTs and other means to improve the quality of life, operational efficiency, and sendees in urban areas, competitiveness while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future, with regard to economic, social, and environmental aspects.

The UK’s Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Skills view smart cities as a process rather than a Fixed outcome, where citizen engagement, solid infrastructure, social capital, and digital technologies are combined to make cities more livable and resilient to disasters, Thus, able to respond faster to new challenges [5].

The smart city is based on three main pillars [6], a technical pillar, a social pillar, and an environmental pillar.

1. Technical Pillar: It is a digital and virtual city where it is provided with information and communication technologies (ICTs), wireless networks, and sensor networks to form the basic elements of the urban environment and as a system for the operation of the smart community and smart urban management.
2. Environmental Pillar: A city that uses new and renewable energy resources.
3. Social Pillar: A city focused on the cognitive and creative activities of individuals, knowledge institutions, digital communication infrastructure, and knowledge management.
12.3.2 CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES OF SMART CITIES

The characteristics of smart cities can be summarized as follows [7]:

• Smart Environment: Ensures protection against pollution and management of economic resources.
• Smart Life: Includes culture, health, housing, and security.
• Smart Traffic: Includes smart public transport and communications infrastructure.
• Smart Economy: Promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity.

• Smart Governance: Public services and transparency.

Smart city seeks to achieve a number of objectives, the most important of which are:

• Providing infrastructure for the city to meet the expectations and needs of the population;
• Ensure the quality of life of the population;
• Providing a clean and sustainable environment for the city;
• Providing smart solutions that serve the city and the population in all areas;
• Transforming the city into a “human-friendly city.”