Analysis Smart City Implementation Challenges Case Study: Mashhad

Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation

Authors

1 PhD Student in Urban Planning, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor Urban Design of Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Extended Abstract
Introduction
Smart city implementation has faced many challenges despite having benefits for urban developments. Cities have failed to implement smart city strategies. Assessing the influencing factors in realizing a smart city is essential in clarifying the challenges facing these cities. This study aims to investigate the affecting factors of smart city realization to define the feasibility factors and variables of the smart city.
Using new technologies such as ICT in cities and citizen’s life has opened opportunities and challenges for officials and related institutions in the urban area. Since cities are a cultural and social reflection of their inhabitants, changes in the way people live also lead to the transformation of cities. Urban planning and management seek to provide smarter solutions for improving the quality of life through new technologies, as a process that responds to the problems of cities. Increasing the rate of urbanization globally and the resulting environmental crises such as destruction of natural resources, environmental pollutants, climate change, reduction of fossil resources, and mass production of waste have posed significant challenges to human life. Therefore, sustainable development as a form of development that ensures the sustainable life of cities and urban communities provides a solution to improve current urbanization problems. The increasing use of information and communication technologies in Peoples' life, on the one hand, and the need to expand sustainable development, on the other hand, have led to the formation of a new model of urbanization in order to overcome these issues. The smart city uses information and communication technologies to achieve sustainable development and improve the quality of life. The smart city is expanding rapidly as a typical pattern in developed countries due to the many opportunities it presents to cities. Currently, there is a wide competition between cities to become smart. However, our country has not been able to take an effective step in order to be smart. The realization of smart cities in Iran faces many challenges. In order to identify these challenges, this study tries to examine the factors affecting the feasibility of smart cities based on their components and explain the contribution of each of these factors affecting the smart city.
 
Methodology
This study assumes the significance of the six components of a smart city (economy, environment, people, living, governance, mobility) on the feasibility of a smart city in Mashhad. Therefore, this study utilizes a mixed research method and questionnaire analysis method. For this purpose, first, the components and variables affecting the feasibility of the smart city are explained. The structural equation modeling method, Smart PLS 3 software, has been used for data analysis.
 
Results and discussion
At the 95% confidence level, the effective components in Mashhad smart city have been prioritized: Smart governance 92%, smart living 82%, smart economy 79%, smart mobility 69%, smart environment 59%, and smart people 57%.
Comparatively, with the feasibility of smart cities in Europe, it can be concluded that the component of a smart environment that has been achieved in most European cities in Mashhad is facing serious challenges. The most significant challenges are:
-Assessing the sustainability of urban plans and programs;
-Integrating resource management;
-Measuring energy efficiency;
-Transparency of energy consumption.
The component of smart people, which has a low percentage of feasibility in European cities, faces fewer challenges than other smart city components in Mashhad, which can be considered one of the main capacities in developing smart city strategies.
 
Conclusion
this article aims to review the feasibility of a smart city in Mashhad and its challenges by reviewing the literature, smart city projects, and questionnaire from managers and employees in the field of urban management. The relationship and impact of each of these challenges on realizing the smart city introduce the effective components and variables in implementing smart city strategies in Mashhad. According to the studies, it can be concluded that each component of a smart city includes different variables. The nature of these variables is focused on the context and complex conditions of each city. Therefore, it is expected that in examining the feasibility of smart cities, a diverse set of variables related to the specific issues and problems of each city will be considered:
-The most critical challenge for the feasibility of the smart city depends on providing a proper definition of the components of the smart city and its structuring to develop innovative ecosystems;
-The method of examining the feasibility of a smart city based on the issues and challenges of each city can be used by urban management institutions, policymakers, and planners;
-Identifying the challenges of achieving smart cities can provide an opportunity for smart cities in Iran to define smart projects more realistically and efficiently.

Keywords


  1. بیدخوری، علیرضا (۱۳۹۴). سناریوهای گذار کلان‌شهر مشهد به‌سوی شهر هوشمند با تأکید بر جابجایی. پایان‌نامه کارشناسی ارشد، به راهنمایی امید علی خوارزمی، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد.
  2. داوری، علی و رضازاده، آرش (1395). مدل‌سازی معادلات ساختاری با نرم‌افزار PLS. چاپ سوم، تهران ‌‫: جهاد دانشگاهی، سازمان انتشارات‌.
  3. سیف‌الدینی، فرانک؛ پوراحمد، احمد؛ زیاری، کرامت الله و نادر دهقانی الوار، سید علی (1392). بررسی بسترها و موانع رشد شهر هوشمند در شهرهای میانی مطالعه موردی: شهر خرم‌آباد. آمایش سرزمین، دوره 5، شماره 2، صص. 260-241.
  4. هاشمی، سید علی؛ راه‌نجات، میترا؛ شریف‌زاده، فتاح و سعدی، محمدرضا (1399). نسبت سنجی حکمروایی خوب و شهر هوشمند (مطالعه موردی: شهر تهران). فصلنامه راهبرد اجتماعی فرهنگی، سال 9، شماره 34، صص. 90-67.
  5. Alawadhi, Suha., Aldama-Nalda, Armando., Chourabi, Hafedh., Gil-Garcia, J. Ramon.,  Leung, Sofia., Mellouli, Sehl., Nam, Taewoo., Pardo, Theresa A., Scholl, Hans J., & Walker, Shawn. (2012). Building Understanding of Smart City Initiatives, Proceedings of nternational conference on electronic government. Springer: Berlin, Heidelberg.
  6. Albino, Vito., Umberto, Berardi., & Dangelico, Rosa Maria. (2015). Smart cities: Definitions, dimensions, performance, and initiatives. Journal of Urban Technology, Vol.22, No.1, pp. 3–21.
  7. Bidkhori, Alireza. (2015). Scenarios of transition from Mashhad metropolis to smart city with emphasis on relocation, Master Thesis, under the guidance of Omid Ali Kharazmi, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. [In Persian].
  8. Buscher, Volker., & Doody, Léan. (2013). Global innovators: international case studies on smart cities, BIS Research Report, edition1. Publisher Arup.
  9. Caragliu, Andrea., Del Bo, Chiara., & Nijkamp, Peter. (2011). Smart cities in Europe. Journal of Urban Technology, Vol.18, No.2, pp. 65–82.
  10. Chourabi, Hafedh., Nam, Taewoo., Walker, Shawn., Gil-Garcia, J. Ramon., Mellouli, Sehl., Nahon, Karine., Pardo, Theresa A., & Scholl, Hans Jochen. (2012). Understanding smart cities: An integrative framework. 45th Hawaii international conference on system sciences, pp. 2289–2297.
  11. Cosgrave, Ellie., Doody, Léan., & Walt, Nicola. (2014). Delivering the Smart CitySmart, edition1. Publisher Arup.
  12. Dameri, Renata Paola., & Rosenthal-Sabroux, Camille. (2014). Smart city and value creation, edition1. Publisher Springer, Cham, pp1-12.
  13. Davari, Ali., & Rezazadeh, Arash. (2015). Structural Equation Modeling with PLS Software, Third Edition, Tehran: University Jihad, Publishing Organization. [In Persian].
  14. De Santis, Roberta., Fasano, Alessandra., Mignolli, Nadia., & Villa, Anna. (2014). Smart city: fact and fiction, MPRA Paper 54536, University Library of Munich, Germany, pp. 1-20.
  15. Gil-Garcia, J. R., Pardo, T. A., & Nam, T. (Eds.). (2015). Smarter as the new urban agenda: A comprehensive view of the 21st century city, Springer, Vol.11, p‌p.1-19.
  16. Hall RE. (2000). The vision of a smart city. (Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA), 2nd International Life Extension Technology Workshop, Paris, 28 September, pp.1-20.
  17. Hashemi, Seyed Ali., Rahnejat, Mitra., & Sharifzadeh, Fattah., Saeidi, & Mohammad Reza. (2019). The Ratio of Good Governance and Smart City (Case Study: Tehran), Social-Cultural Strategy Quarterly, Vol. 9, No.34, pp. 67-90.
  18. Hollands, Robert G. (2008). Will the real smart city please stand up? Intelligent, progressive or entrepreneurial?. City, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 303-320. ‌
  19. Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling, edition1. Publisher NewYork: Guilford Press.
  20. Lytras, Miltiadis D., & Visvizi, Anna. (2018). Who uses smart city services and what to make of it: Toward interdisciplinary smart cities research. Journal of Sustainability, Vol.10, No.6, pp.1-16.
  21. Manville, C., Cochrane, G., Cave, J., Millard, J., Pederson, J.K., Thaarup, R.k., & Kotterink, B. (2014). Mapping smart cities in the EU. Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy, European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, pp1-200.
  22. Marsa-Maestre, I., Lopez-Carmona, M., Velasco, J., & Navarro, A. (2008). Mobile Agents for Service Personalization. Journal of Networks, Vol.3, No.5, pp 30-41.
  23. Meijer, Albert., & Bolivar, Manuel Pedro Rodríguez., (2016). Governing the Smart City: A review of the literature on smart urban governance. Journal of International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82, No. 2, pp. 392-408.
  24. Monzon, Andres. (2015). Smart cities concept and challenges: Bases for the assessment of smart city projects, In international conference on smart cities and green ICT systems (SMARTGREENS), pp. 1-11, IEEE.
  25. Nam, Taewoo., & Pardo, Theresa A. (2011). Conceptualizing Smart City with Dimensions of Technology, People, and Institutions, 12th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research,pp 282-291, Maryland.
  26. Reddick, Christopher G. (2005). Citizen interaction with e-government: From the streets to servers?. Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 22, No.1, pp.38–57.
  27. Seif al-Dini, Frank., Poorahmad, Ahmad., Ziari, Keramatollah., & Naderdeghani Alvar, Seyed Ali. (2013). Investigation of contexts and barriers to smart city growth in middle cities, Vol.5, No. 2, pp. 241-260. [In Persian].
  28. Tan, S., & Taeihagh, A. (2020). Smart City Governance in Developing Countries: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability, Vol.12, No.3, 1-29.
  29. United Nations (2019). World population prospects - Population division - United Nations.