Addressing all Sustainable Development (SD) pillars, this definition of Smart
Cities is especially suitable for the chapter at hand which examines the compatibility
of Smart Cities with SD in general and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) in particular. It also alludes to the definition of SD in the “Brundtland
Report” which contains the most widely known definition of SD, stating that “. . .a
development is sustainable if it ‘. . .meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’”
(Schwarz-Herion 2015a, with further references).
In September 2015, the 17 SDGs from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were approved by world leaders at a UN Summit before entering into effect
in January 2016 (UN 2018a). The SDGs are an update of the Agenda 21 from 1992
which had been based on the Club of Rome’s 1991 report The First Global
Revolution as stated in "Come On!", one of the more recent Club of Rome reports
(von Weizsäcker and Wijkman 2018). Applying to everyone, the SDGs shall help
countries not only to eradicate all forms of poverty but also to “. . .fight inequalities
and tackle climate change. . .” (UN 2018a, c). The SDGs or “Global Goals”,
described as “the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for
all” (UN 2018b), repose on “. . .the success of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs),” (UN 2018a, c) recognizing that the elimination of poverty must go
together with strategies generating economic growth and addressing various social
needs including health, job opportunities, and social protection while dealing with
environmental protection and climate change (UN 2018a, c).
There are numerous definitions for Smart Cities (Anthopoulos 2017). The expression “smart” is often used synonymous for “intelligent” regarding persons or
“efficient” concerning (technical) devices (Anthopoulos 2017); a city is an urban
area with at least 1500 people by sq. mile but differs from country to country
(Anthopoulos 2017). So, a Smart City may be defined as an urban area with at
minimum 1500 people per sq. mile where intelligent persons use efficient technical
devices, but a single definition may not be sufficient. Frost & Sullivan found some
key parallels among Smart Cities all over the globe, namely, “. . .smart governance,
smart energy, smart building, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology,
smart healthcare and smart citizen” (Singh 2014, with further references). According
to the Indian government, a Smart City is characterized by providing
“. . .sustainability in terms of economic activities and employment opportunities to
a wide section of its residents, regardless of their level of education, skills or income
levels” (Indian Government 2014). Others define a city as “. . . ‘smart’ when
investments in human and social capital along with traditional (transport) and
modern (ICT) communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic development
and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through
participatory action and engagement” (Caragliu et al. 2009).
By contrast, the International Standards Organization (ISO) defines Smart Cities
as “. . .a new concept and a new model, which applies the new generation of
Information Technologies, such as the internet of things, cloud computing, big
data, and space/geographical information integration, to facilitate the planning,
construction, management, and smart services of cities. . .” (Anthopoulos 2017,
with further references), thus basing the concept of Smart Cities on those innovations
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O. Schwarz-Herion
Cities is especially suitable for the chapter at hand which examines the compatibility
of Smart Cities with SD in general and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) in particular. It also alludes to the definition of SD in the “Brundtland
Report” which contains the most widely known definition of SD, stating that “. . .a
development is sustainable if it ‘. . .meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’”
(Schwarz-Herion 2015a, with further references).
In September 2015, the 17 SDGs from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were approved by world leaders at a UN Summit before entering into effect
in January 2016 (UN 2018a). The SDGs are an update of the Agenda 21 from 1992
which had been based on the Club of Rome’s 1991 report The First Global
Revolution as stated in "Come On!", one of the more recent Club of Rome reports
(von Weizsäcker and Wijkman 2018). Applying to everyone, the SDGs shall help
countries not only to eradicate all forms of poverty but also to “. . .fight inequalities
and tackle climate change. . .” (UN 2018a, c). The SDGs or “Global Goals”,
described as “the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for
all” (UN 2018b), repose on “. . .the success of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs),” (UN 2018a, c) recognizing that the elimination of poverty must go
together with strategies generating economic growth and addressing various social
needs including health, job opportunities, and social protection while dealing with
environmental protection and climate change (UN 2018a, c).
There are numerous definitions for Smart Cities (Anthopoulos 2017). The expression “smart” is often used synonymous for “intelligent” regarding persons or
“efficient” concerning (technical) devices (Anthopoulos 2017); a city is an urban
area with at least 1500 people by sq. mile but differs from country to country
(Anthopoulos 2017). So, a Smart City may be defined as an urban area with at
minimum 1500 people per sq. mile where intelligent persons use efficient technical
devices, but a single definition may not be sufficient. Frost & Sullivan found some
key parallels among Smart Cities all over the globe, namely, “. . .smart governance,
smart energy, smart building, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology,
smart healthcare and smart citizen” (Singh 2014, with further references). According
to the Indian government, a Smart City is characterized by providing
“. . .sustainability in terms of economic activities and employment opportunities to
a wide section of its residents, regardless of their level of education, skills or income
levels” (Indian Government 2014). Others define a city as “. . . ‘smart’ when
investments in human and social capital along with traditional (transport) and
modern (ICT) communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic development
and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through
participatory action and engagement” (Caragliu et al. 2009).
By contrast, the International Standards Organization (ISO) defines Smart Cities
as “. . .a new concept and a new model, which applies the new generation of
Information Technologies, such as the internet of things, cloud computing, big
data, and space/geographical information integration, to facilitate the planning,
construction, management, and smart services of cities. . .” (Anthopoulos 2017,
with further references), thus basing the concept of Smart Cities on those innovations
210
O. Schwarz-Herion