Innovation in Smart Cities

As was already noted, the infrastructure of smart cities has the potential to establish a special collaborative ecosystem where residents, prosumers, businesses, academic institutions, and research facilities can produce novel goods, services, and solutions. A smart city ecosystem includes a wide range of actors involved in public and private consumption, production, education, research, entertainment, and professional activities, in contrast to typical double-sided marketplaces where only two types of stakeholders (supply and demand) participate. Given that the innovation process is founded on knowledge and learning, this collaboration necessitates high levels of both human and social capital (Smart People). Creativity and innovation produce more competitive and enticing local ecosystems where knowledge generation and knowledge application stated by local government, are present (Smart Economy). Smart cities can encourage the growth of both social and human capital. In contrast to social capital, which is the strength and quantity of the connections between social institutions, human capital can be defined as the abilities and competencies that are inherent in an individual or a group. Understanding how these two ideas are linked is crucial for comprehending how smart cities boost creativity and production in local ecosystems. Universities and other higher education institutions are crucial for the development of human capital in smart cities, with evident effects on economic growth as a result. Because of the availability of social and human capital on the one hand, and the hardware infrastructure on the other, smart cities can foster more competitive business settings. The novel business models of the smart economy are thus based on smart environments, mobility, and people. To encourage the sharing of knowledge, smart cities frequently establish technological hubs in the form of research facilities, business incubators and accelerators, as well as innovation parks. A knowledge economy environment centered on social networks of trust, sharing, and learning can result from the physical closeness of brilliant people, creative businesses, and governmental organizations (Appio et al. 2019).

References

Appio, F. P., Lima, M., & Paroutis, S. (2019). Understanding Smart Cities: Innovation ecosystems, technological advancements, and societal challenges. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 142, 1-14.