Researchers have completed a comprehensive overview to support local governments, their managers, and officials, as well as businesses and interest groups in managing smart city initiatives. The knowledge is put in a playbook and it is filled with practical recommendations aimed at developing more effective, inclusive, and sustainable management practices.

Given the complexity and variability of smart city initiatives, it comes as no surprise that their governance remains one of the biggest challenges for municipal governments worldwide. The existence of this critical challenge is comprehensively documented and validated in the United Nations report entitled Global Review of Smart City Governance Practices, which was released in 2022 by UN-Habitat, CAF, Edinburgh Napier University, and Tallinn University of Technology.

This study involved active participation from administrative personnel and leaders in municipal governments. Together, these individuals played a pivotal role in supporting a wide data collection process that spanned more than 250 urban areas across five continents.

Digital technologies for urban development

Digital technologies present a wealth of invaluable opportunities for sustainable urban development. They seamlessly integrate into traditional urban processes and activities, enhancing their efficiency and quality, while serving as the foundation for the creation of new services and applications that can revolutionize city life. A prime example of this transformation is the utilization of real-time data to optimize traffic management, alleviate road congestion, and enhance air quality in urban areas.

Concurrently, smart mobility services, including car sharing and demand responsive local transport, are undergoing substantial transformations to offer more sustainable alternatives to both private vehicles and conventional public transportation systems.

In addition, digital technologies open doors to enhance civic participation and democracy. Online platforms are emerging as powerful tools that facilitate citizen engagement with the political and social aspects of their cities. Meanwhile, promising technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain hold the potential to revolutionize urban processes, leading to more responsive, efficient, and personalized public services.

These are merely a handful of examples, but the potentialities are almost limitless, underscoring the profound influence of digital technologies on our urban environments. However, the mere application of these technologies within urban settings falls short of rendering them truly smart.

Successful smart city initiatives necessitate the harmonization of resources and involvement from a wide array of economic and societal sectors, and they must be accompanied by substantial changes within the public sector. The unpredictability surrounding emerging technologies also raises sustainability concerns and ethical dilemmas that can only be tackled through collective endeavors.

Moreover, the development of smart city initiatives entails the synchronization of governmental bodies at various administrative tiers, as well as the exchange of knowledge across a range of disciplinary domains.

The methodology of the playbook included a systematic literature review, which defined the smart city management framework; an online survey that was available in nine languages ​​and collected responses from 300 people from more than 250 municipalities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America; and expert interviews with 131 experts from 37 countries.

The selected interviewees were known for their expertise in managing urban digital transitions and shared diverse perspectives and guidance. They included government officials, heads of smart city units, researchers, representatives of NGOs, private consultants and heads of public sector organizations.