Smart Cities: Introducing Digital Innovation to Cities

Transformation through digital innovation is becoming an imperative for every city. The ‘Smart City’ concept promises to solve the most urgent queries of progressive urbanization in the area of mobility, energy, water supply, security, housing deprivation, and inclusion. Despite the exploitation of existing potential in lighthouse-cities that include Barcelona, London, Munich, Lyon, and Vienna, the less tenacious pursuit of smart city possibilities in the majority of municipalities has resulted in major discrepancies between leading smart cities and those that are less aspirational. Although the necessity of action is frequently recognized, an appropriate path of action remains obscure.  Smart Cities: Introducing Digital Innovation to Cities offers answers, with clarifying examples, to questions that have remained unanswered for many cities. The book identifies and addresses the core elements and potential of smart cities, best practice methods and tools to be implemented, as well as how diverse stakeholders might be effectively integrated.  Based on perennial international research in the field of smart cities, this book brings together the authors' collective experience in practice-based political, administrative, and economic projects to provide a common framework to guide and engage key stakeholders in the transformation and realization of smart cities.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. The Future of Cities Chapter 2. Smart Cities  Chapter 3. Smart City Lighthouse Projects  Chapter 4. Guidelines for Smart City Transformation  Chapter 5. Outlook  Chapter 6. Tools for the Transformation into a Smart City

About the Author :
Oliver Gassmann is Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at the University of St. Gallen and Chairman of the Institute of Technology Management. His research focuses on success factors for innovations.  Jonas Böhm is a PhD Student and Research Associate at the Institute of Technology Management and assists national and international smart city projects as a coach and researcher.  Maximilian Palmié is Assistant Professor of Energy and Innovation Management at the University of St. Gallen, where he heads the Energy Innovation Lab. This lab focuses on the management of business model innovations and new technologies in the energy industry.

Review :
‘This book masterfully illustrates the seemingly boundless impact of digitalization on flourishing urban centers. Digitalization changes roles and business models and necessitates an entirely new governance structure. The smart city management model introduce here merges these elements in an impressive manner.’ ‘”Smart city” is the new buzzword, yet what does it really signify? With this book, the University of St. Gallen has made a significant contribution toward a profound understanding of smart cities. It offers valuable insights for the initiation and realization of smart city processes.’ ‘Digitalization is an opportunity as well as a challenge for cities. There is no ‘silver bullet’ for the development of smart cities. However, functional strategies with the proper methodology do exist, as this insightful book proves. It further becomes apparent that open-mindedness and interdisciplinary collaboration are decisive.’ ‘Energy consumption and emissions, the safety of urban populations, and ever-increasing traffic constitute utmost pressing issues for contemporary cities. Smart cities and intelligent buildings promise to solve these challenges. This book portrays precise ways in which cities can become smart cities.’ ‘Smart cities require suitable technologies, sustainable business models, and proper administration processes. This book conveys concrete ways of how cities can become smart cities.’ ‘This book succinctly expresses why only one smart city can persist in face of location competition.’ ‘Digitalization opens up myriad development possibilities in cities. This book expertly delineates various “best practices” as well as core elements of a systematic and strategic approach.’ ‘Municipal utilities not only construct and operate essential digital infrastructure, but also new services for a smart city—from waste disposal “on demand” to electromobility. This book can especially assist small public utility companies in their efforts to develop and realize a strategy for their smart city.’ ‘The realization of smart city projects presupposes a uniform understanding of their relevant dimensions. This book and its smart city management model offer the ideal foundation for this crucial unification.’