Intelligent cities as smart providers: CoPs as organizations for developing integrated models of eGovernment Services

Abstract

This paper develops the notion of the intelligent city as the smart provider of electronically enhanced services. It identifies how this growing interest in intelligent cities has led universities to exploe the opportunities “communities of practice” (CoPs) offer industry to become smart providers of online services. With this aim, it reports on the efforts a number of leading European cities have recently made to be intelligent in exploiting the opportunities CoPs offer industry to become smart providers. That is, smart in developing online presence via integrated models of eGovernment services, which are in turn capable of meeting the learning needs, knowledge requirements and capacity-building commitments of the socially inclusive and participatory urban regeneration programs they promote.

Keywords:

• intelligent cities
• smart providers
• electronically enhanced services
• communities of practice
• knowledge-based learning organizations
• eGovernment services
• social inclusion
• participation

Notes

1. While the title of the article by Amin and Roberts (2008) goes under the curious name of “beyond communities of practice”, they use the phrase to suggest the need to “get beyond” the “undifferentiated” use of the term and requirement for more “contextualized” studies of the type set out in this paper.

2. All of the material supporting this examination of the IntelCities CoP is drawn from the findings of the IntelCites integrating project, funded under the 6th Framework of the EC's IST Research and Technical Development Programme. Further information on this project can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelcities.

3. http://www.smartcities.info/