IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v49y2022i5p1536-1555.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the taxonomy of smart city indicators and their alignment with sustainability and resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Ayyoob Sharifi
  • Zaheer Allam

Abstract

As interest in smart city initiatives continues to grow rapidly, various involved actors and stakeholders increasingly rely on assessment frameworks or indicator sets for different purposes such as monitoring and benchmarking performance, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and determining priority intervention areas. Accordingly, many smart city assessment frameworks and/or indicator sets have been developed in the last decade. To guide actors and stakeholders in their selection of the most suitable frameworks, several studies have examined contents and structure of smart city assessment frameworks or indicator sets. Such studies have significantly improved our understanding of the thematic focus of assessment tools and their methodological approaches. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on the taxonomy of smart city indicators. In addition, since other concepts such as sustainability and resilience are increasingly recognized to be connected to the smart city concept, more clarity on how different assessment frameworks or indicator sets are aligned with sustainability and resilience dimensions and characteristics is needed. To fill these gaps, we developed a taxonomy and examined 33 assessment frameworks or indicator sets in terms of indicator type, sectoral linkages, and alignment with sustainability and resilience dimensions and characteristics. In terms of indicator type, results show that output indicators are dominant but limited attention has been paid to impact indicators. In terms of sectoral focus, existing indicators are mainly related to information and communication technologies, economy, and governance. Regarding resilience abilities, indicators are mainly related to planning abilities and limited attention has been paid to recovery and adaptation. As for resilience characteristics, reasonable levels of alignment with resourcefulness and efficiency were observed, but indicators are not well-aligned with other important characteristics such as redundancy and diversity. Finally, in terms of sustainability, limited alignment with the environmental dimension was found, which raises concerns regarding the suitability of smart city indicators for guiding environmental sustainability and informing efforts aimed at addressing climate change issues. Results of this study can support interested stakeholders in their efforts to select the most suitable assessment frameworks or indicator sets for promoting resilient, smart, and sustainable communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayyoob Sharifi & Zaheer Allam, 2022. "On the taxonomy of smart city indicators and their alignment with sustainability and resilience," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(5), pages 1536-1555, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:49:y:2022:i:5:p:1536-1555
    DOI: 10.1177/23998083211058798
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083211058798
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23998083211058798?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Igor Calzada, 2018. "(Smart) Citizens from Data Providers to Decision-Makers? The Case Study of Barcelona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-25, September.
    2. Dhunny, A.Z. & Allam, Z. & Lobine, D. & Lollchund, M.R., 2019. "Sustainable renewable energy planning and wind farming optimization from a biodiversity perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 1282-1297.
    3. Simon Joss & Frans Sengers & Daan Schraven & Federico Caprotti & Youri Dayot, 2019. "The Smart City as Global Discourse: Storylines and Critical Junctures across 27 Cities," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 3-34, January.
    4. Kwasi Anarfi & Ross A. Hill & Chris Shiel, 2020. "Highlighting the Sustainability Implications of Urbanisation: A Comparative Analysis of Two Urban Areas in Ghana," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Hosseini, Seyedmohsen & Barker, Kash & Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E., 2016. "A review of definitions and measures of system resilience," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 47-61.
    6. Mara Zuccardi Merli & Elisa Bonollo, 2014. "Performance Measurement in the Smart Cities," Progress in IS, in: Renata Paola Dameri & Camille Rosenthal-Sabroux (ed.), Smart City, edition 127, pages 139-155, Springer.
    7. Zaheer Allam & David Jones, 2021. "Future (post-COVID) digital, smart and sustainable cities in the wake of 6G: Digital twins, immersive realities and new urban economies," Post-Print hal-03477845, HAL.
    8. Resnik, D.B., 2010. "Urban sprawl, smart growth, and deliberative democracy," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(10), pages 1852-1856.
    9. Boglarka BARSI, 2018. "Beyond indicators, new methods in Smart city assessment," Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 2(1), pages 87-99, March.
    10. Ayyoob Sharifi & Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir & Rama Krishna Reddy Kummitha, 2021. "Contributions of Smart City Solutions and Technologies to Resilience against the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-28, July.
    11. Anastasia Stratigea & Akrivi Leka & Maria Panagiotopoulou, 2017. "In Search of Indicators for Assessing Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities' Performance," International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), IGI Global, vol. 6(1), pages 43-73, January.
    12. Allam, Zaheer & Jones, David S., 2021. "Future (post-COVID) digital, smart and sustainable cities in the wake of 6G: Digital twins, immersive realities and new urban economies," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ayyoob Sharifi & Yoshiki Yamagata, 2022. "Smart cities and climate-resilient urban planning," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(5), pages 1347-1353, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ayyoob Sharifi & Zaheer Allam & Bakhtiar Feizizadeh & Hessam Ghamari, 2021. "Three Decades of Research on Smart Cities: Mapping Knowledge Structure and Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    2. Ayyoob Sharifi & Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir & Rama Krishna Reddy Kummitha, 2021. "Contributions of Smart City Solutions and Technologies to Resilience against the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-28, July.
    3. Sha, Kritika & Taeihagh, Araz & De Jong, Martin, 2024. "Governing disruptive technologies for inclusive development in cities: A systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Mahnoosh Hassankhani & Mehdi Alidadi & Ayyoob Sharifi & Abolghasem Azhdari, 2021. "Smart City and Crisis Management: Lessons for the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhang, Linda, 2023. "Nexus between digital transformation and energy technology innovation: An empirical test of A-share listed enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    6. Alyse K. Winchester & Ryan A. Peterson & Ellison Carter & Mary D. Sammel, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 Social Distancing Policies on Traffic Congestion, Mobility, and NO 2 Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Jifeng Zhang & Zirui Yang & Bing He, 2023. "Does Digital Infrastructure Improve Urban Economic Resilience? Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Škare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Porada-Rochon, Malgorzata, 2024. "Digitalization and carbon footprint: Building a path to a sustainable economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    9. Shin, Hyunjin & Park, Sanghyun & Kim, Leehee & Kim, Jinseob & Kim, Taeeun & Song, Youngkeun & Lee, Sungjoo, 2024. "The future service scenarios of 6G telecommunications technology," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(2).
    10. Yap, Kah Yung & Chin, Hon Huin & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2022. "Future outlook on 6G technology for renewable energy sources (RES)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    11. Popkova, Elena G. & De Bernardi, Paola & Tyurina, Yuliya G. & Sergi, Bruno S., 2022. "A theory of digital technology advancement to address the grand challenges of sustainable development," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Negar Noori & Thomas Hoppe & Martin de Jong, 2020. "Classifying Pathways for Smart City Development: Comparing Design, Governance and Implementation in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-24, May.
    13. Cathaysa Martín-Blanco & Montserrat Zamorano & Carmen Lizárraga & Valentin Molina-Moreno, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals: Achievements and Expectations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Guandalini, Ilaria, 2022. "Sustainability through digital transformation: A systematic literature review for research guidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 456-471.
    15. Clement, Jessica & Ruysschaert, Benoit & Crutzen, Nathalie, 2023. "Smart city strategies – A driver for the localization of the sustainable development goals?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    16. Casey R. Corrado & Suzanne M. DeLong & Emily G. Holt & Edward Y. Hua & Andreas Tolk, 2022. "Combining Green Metrics and Digital Twins for Sustainability Planning and Governance of Smart Buildings and Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-22, October.
    17. Zhenzhen Liao & Shaofeng Ru & Yiyang Cheng, 2023. "A Simulation Study on the Impact of the Digital Economy on CO 2 Emission Based on the System Dynamics Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, February.
    18. Zabih-Allah Torabi & Ali Asghar Shalbafian & Zaheer Allam & Zahed Ghaderi & Beniamino Murgante & Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir, 2022. "Enhancing Memorable Experiences, Tourist Satisfaction, and Revisit Intention through Smart Tourism Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    19. D’Adamo, Idiano & Gastaldi, Massimo & Ioppolo, Giuseppe & Morone, Piergiuseppe, 2022. "An analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in Italian cities: Performance measurements and policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    20. Liu, Yajun & Zhang, Xiuwu & Shen, Yang, 2024. "Technology-driven carbon reduction: Analyzing the impact of digital technology on China's carbon emission and its mechanism," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:49:y:2022:i:5:p:1536-1555. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.