Driving smart cities through smart projects

Cities are rethinking how to drive future urban development following a smart vision to urban growth in order to improve the quality of life of citizens. As adopting a smart approach to urban development, cities are investing in the design and implementation of smart city projects to transform in a significant way the urban community, and to enhance social and economic performances of a city. By Investing in smart city projects, cities identify a sustainability-oriented pathway addressing and developing smart and intelligent solutions to urban problems, relying on information technology as a source that enables cities to develop innovation processes and drive sustainable urban growth. Cities are adopting a smart vision by promoting smart city projects that help encourage cooperation and support a collaborative framework to drive innovation in services and knowledge for sustainable urban development. Smart city projects are increasing, but the pathway leading to smart and sustainable development is still in the initial stage. Smart city projects emerge as a necessary step to support collective learning processes that enable urban change and innovation coherently with a long-term horizon.