Expert assessment of implementation of the Smart City concept elements in municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region[Экспертная оценка внедрения элементов концепции Smart City в муниципальных образованиях Свердловской области]

Research problem. Transformation of megacities into smart cities is currently a crucial factor of the citizens’ living conditions improvement. In the last decade, the concept of a “smart” city has gained significant popularity, as its implementation allows residents to more efficiently meet their needs in a particular infrastructure, save resources and improve social services quality. Despite the existing ratings of the Russian “smart” cities, the “smart” technologies implementation processes in the regions of the Russian Federation have not yet been expressed in scientific research, and the existing works are predominantly aimed at studying the so-called. best practices. This article deals with the expert assessment of the smart city technologies implementation practice in certain municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region. The research purpose is to consider the expert assessment results of the implementation state and problems of the “Smart cities of the Sverdlovsk region” regional program, developed and approved in the framework of the “Smart cities” federal departmental project. Methodology and methods. As the research methodological, a systematic approach to the “smart” city analysis is applied. Additionally, the work uses an activity-based approach to researching the content and results of activities of the national authorities and the Sverdlovsk region local bodies on the “smart” cities elements implementation in the regional municipalities. To collect empirical data, the following methods have been used: normative legal acts and official documents analysis, expert interviews (6 experts – representatives of public authorities of the Sverdlovsk region and local bodies; representatives of IT companies implementing the “smart” technologies in urban space management; public representative – an urbanist). Research results. For the time being, when implementing the “Smart cities of the Sverdlovsk region” regional project, municipalities have not managed to get the pursued results. One of the most important problems is the multifaceted nature of the municipal activities in the part of the city key areas digital transformation: different elaboration degrees of the platforms functional equipment, infrastructure facilities due to the lack of standards mandatory for municipalities at regional level. Moreover, the funding level is insufficient: municipal budgets cannot fully ensure the transition to the cities of the future. What makes things even worse is that the cities of the Sverdlovsk region do not participate in the best practices contest held by the RF Ministry of Construction, which means they do not receive additional funds in the form of subsidies and grant support. Scientific novelty. The research expands the perception of mechanisms for the “smart” city technologies implementation in the Russian Federation; facts characterizing the experience of the cities of the Sverdlovsk region of the smart city technologies implementation are presented; the current state and problems of the “smart” technologies implementation in the municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region are revealed.