Analysis Matrix for Smart Cities

The current digital revolution has ignited the evolution of communications grids and the development of new schemes for productive systems. Traditional technologic scenarios have been challenged, and Smart Cities have become the basis for urban competitiveness. The citizen is the one who has the power to set new scenarios, and that is why a definition of the way people interact with their cities is needed, as is commented in the first part of the article. At the same time, a lack of clarity has been detected in the way of describing what Smart Cities are, and the second part will try to set the basis for that. For all before, the information and communication technologies that manage and transform 21st century cities must be reviewed, analyzing their impact on new social behaviors that shape the spaces and means of communication, as is posed in the experimental section, setting the basis for an analysis matrix to score the different elements that affect a Smart City environment. So, as the better way to evaluate what a Smart City is, there is a need for a tool to score the different technologies on the basis of their usefulness and consequences, considering the impact of each application. For all of that, the final section describes the main objective of this article in practical scenarios, considering how the technologies are used by citizens, who must be the main concern of all urban development.