Smart networked cities?

Abstract

This paper aims to critically assess the lack of a global inter-urban perspective in the smart city policy framework from a conceptual standpoint. We argue here that the smart city policy agenda should be informed by and address the structure of transnational urban networks as this can affect the efficiency of such local policies. The significance of this global network structure is essential as cities do not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, urban development is heavily based on urban interdependencies found at a global scale. After critically analyzing smart city characteristics and the world city network literature, we identify the need for global urban interdependencies to be addressed in a smart city policy framework. While this paper approaches this issue from a theoretical standpoint, some policy examples are also provided.

Keywords:

• smart cities
• networks
• ICTs

Notes

1. It is important to note that, for specific industries such as electronics and pharmaceuticals, international networks are fundamental, while in other industries, national or regional networks may be sufficient (Bunnell and Coe 2001).

2. See, for example, the European Digital Cities project in the mid-1990s, the main activities of which involved the publication of regular newsletters, organization of four conferences and coordination of working groups on specific topics defined by the cities themselves (Komninos 2002), but also the most current Eurocities (2011) and Urbact (2011) initiatives.