Exploring Smart City Project Implementation Risks in the Cities of Kakinada and Kanpur

ABSTRACT

With an increasing number of smart city initiatives in developed as well as developing nations, smart cities are seen as a catalyst for improving the quality of life for city residents. However, the current understanding of the risks that may hamper the successful implementation of smart city projects remains limited. This research examines the risk landscape for implementing smart city projects in two Indian cities, Kakinada and Kanpur, by interviewing 20 professionals from industry and local government who were closely associated with implementing smart city projects. Seven risks are identified—namely resource management and partnership, institutional, scheduling and execution, social, financial, political, and technology—using thematic analysis. Further, the interrelationships between the risks are modelled using causal mapping techniques. The results suggest different risk priorities among the two types of professionals interviewed. Further, a number of risks were found to be closely connected. These findings suggest that risk mitigation strategies need to take a comprehensive view towards all risks and their interconnections instead of managing each risk in isolation.

KEYWORDS:

• Smart cities
• smart city mission
• risks
• risk causal mapping

Acknowledgments

We thank the interview participants who made time in their busy schedules to participate in this study.

Disclosure Statement

None of the authors of this paper has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Khushboo Gupta

Khushboo Gupta is a junior program associate in the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi.

Ralph P. Hall

Ralph P. Hall is an associate professor in the Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) program at Virginia Tech, the associate director of the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), and the director of SPIA's Undergraduate Programs.