Smart City: A Critical Assessment

This contributed volume reports on a multidisciplinary collective work on the topic of Smart City, merging scientific reflections and operational issues. Here, current Smart Cities concepts are subjected to criticism, while the related terminology has been updated to contemplate a model of urban development capable of integrating technical and humanistic culture by fostering an open dialogue between different stakeholders. Upon an introduction to the state of the art, this book presents a glossary of definitions and concepts around the contemporary city, and five interviews with researchers and scholars of different background. The last chapter summarizes current challenges in designing the city of the future, highlighting new research directions in home-infrastructure, small smart city, energy transition, connectivity, digitalization and autonomous and connected mobility.

Written by the members of the Scientific Committee of the Smart City 4.0 Sustainable LAB Research Laboratory, an inter-university network including research groups from the University of Parma, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Bologna, University of Ferrara, the Polytechnic University of Milan, and the Catholic University of Milan with its Piacenza campus, this book offers a source of inspiration for other researchers and stakeholders, and it is intended to foster collaborations between different stakeholders - and possibly countries – to develop future cities that are wise, green, sustainable and inclusive.