Cities rethinking smart-oriented pathways for urban sustainability

As smart communities, cities use technology to develop “smartness” as a means of change and to achieve urban sustainability by improving urban quality of life. Cities as smart communities understand and develop the potential offered by information technology to improve urban competitiveness, innovation, and quality of life within a community. Cities identify the pathway for sustainability by promoting a smart vision strategy that relies on strengthening technology to develop a human-centered view and community-approach to urban sustainable development. In doing so, this implies collaborative public-private driven processes within urban ecosystems and enhances the need for security and freedom preservation, as well as supporting social inclusion initiatives to drive cities as sustainable and inclusive communities. As a result, these cities become smarter as intelligent urban organizations, achieving competitiveness and promoting innovation to better ensure a high quality of life.