Major Smart Cities iniciatives

Alexopoulos et al. (2019) proposes a comprehensive taxonomy for categorizing the application domains of smart cities. The authors argue that a clear and consistent taxonomy is needed to facilitate communication and collaboration between stakeholders in the smart city ecosystem, including researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

The proposed taxonomy consists of six main application domains, each with a number of sub-domains. The six main domains are:

1. Urban Planning and Management: This domain includes sub-domains such as land use management, transportation planning, and emergency management.
2. Urban Infrastructure: This domain includes sub-domains such as energy management, water management, and waste management.
3. Urban Mobility: This domain includes sub-domains such as public transportation, parking management, and traffic management.
4. Urban Environment: This domain includes sub-domains such as air quality management, green space management, and noise management.
5. Urban Living: This domain includes sub-domains such as housing, health, and social services.
6. Urban Economy: This domain includes sub-domains such as business development, tourism, and trade.

The authors argue that this taxonomy can help stakeholders to better understand the scope of smart city initiatives and to identify areas of overlap and synergy between different domains. They also suggest that the taxonomy can be used to guide the development of new smart city applications and to evaluate the impact of existing ones.

Overall, the proposed taxonomy provides a useful framework for understanding the different application domains of smart cities, and could help to facilitate collaboration and innovation in the field (Alexopoulos et al., 2019).

Additionally, we have to stress out some late developments regarding the smart city iniciatives:     

• COVID-19 Response: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of smart city technologies to improve public health and safety. Cities around the world are using IoT devices, sensors, and data analytics to monitor social distancing, track the spread of the virus, and manage healthcare resources.
• Increased Focus on Sustainability: There is a growing emphasis on sustainability in smart city initiatives, with many cities setting goals to reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy, and improve air quality. This includes initiatives such as bike-sharing programs, electric vehicle charging stations, and green building standards.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence: There is increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in smart city initiatives, with cities using AI to improve traffic management, optimize energy use, and enhance public safety. AI is also being used to analyze large amounts of data to improve decision-making and service delivery.
• Expansion of 5G Networks: The rollout of 5G networks is expected to drive the development of smart city technologies, such as connected vehicles and smart grids, by enabling faster and more reliable communication between devices.
• Citizen Participation: There is a growing emphasis on involving citizens in the development of smart city initiatives, with many cities using social media and other online tools to engage with residents and gather feedback on proposed projects. This can lead to more inclusive and effective smart city solutions that meet the needs of all residents.

Overall, these recent developments demonstrate the continued evolution and expansion of smart city initiatives, with a focus on sustainability, citizen participation, and the use of advanced technologies such as AI and 5G.

References

Alexopoulos, C., Pereira, G. V., Charalabidis, Y., & Madrid, L. (2019, April). A taxonomy of smart cities initiatives. In Proceedings of the 12th international conference on theory and practice of electronic governance (pp. 281-290).