A Study of the Interaction of Human Smart Characteristics with Demographic Dynamics and Built Environment: The Case of Limassol, Cyprus

The smart city notion provides an integrated and systematic answer to challenges facing cities today. Smart city policy makers and technology vendors are increasingly stating their interest in human-centered smart cities. On the other hand, in many studies smart city policies bring forward a one-size-fits-all type of recommendation for all areas in question instead of location-specific ones. Based on the above considerations, this paper illustrates that smart citizen characteristics, alongside local urban challenges, are paving the way towards more effective efforts in smart city policy decision making. Our main presumption is that the development level of human-centered indicators of smart cities varies locally. The scientific objective of this paper is to find a simple, understandable link between human smart characteristics and local determinants in Limassol city, Cyprus. The data set consists of seven indicators defined as human smart characteristics and seven which determine local urban challenges consisting of demographic dynamics and built infrastructure attributes based on housing. Correlations of the 14 above indicators are examined in entirety and separately, as the study area was divided into three spatial sub-groups (high, moderate, and low coverage areas) depending on dispersed urbanization, as the main challenge of the study area. The data were obtained mainly from the most recent population census in 2011 and categorized in sub-groups by triggering CLC 2012. Analyzing the statistics using principal component analysis (PCA), we identify significant relationships between human smart city characteristics, demographic dynamics and built infrastructure attributes which can be used in local policy decision making. Spatial variations based on the dispersed urbanization are also observed regarding the above-mentioned relationships.

Download Full-text

Smart Cities Governance

Social Science Computer Review ◽

10.1177/0894439315611103 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 724-739 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Walter Castelnovo ◽

Gianluca Misuraca ◽

Alberto Savoldelli

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Smart City ◽

Social Innovation ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Public Value ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

Evaluation Approaches

Most of the definitions of a “smart city” make a direct or indirect reference to improving performance as one of the main objectives of initiatives to make cities “smarter”. Several evaluation approaches and models have been put forward in literature and practice to measure smart cities. However, they are often normative or limited to certain aspects of cities’ “smartness”, and a more comprehensive and holistic approach seems to be lacking. Thus, building on a review of the literature and practice in the field, this paper aims to discuss the importance of adopting a holistic approach to the assessment of smart city governance and policy decision making. It also proposes a performance assessment framework that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches and contributes to filling the current gap in the knowledge base in this domain. One of the innovative elements of the proposed framework is its holistic approach to policy evaluation. It is designed to address a smart city’s specificities and can benefit from the active participation of citizens in assessing the public value of policy decisions and their sustainability over time. We focus our attention on the performance measurement of codesign and coproduction by stakeholders and social innovation processes related to public value generation. More specifically, we are interested in the assessment of both the citizen centricity of smart city decision making and the processes by which public decisions are implemented, monitored, and evaluated as regards their capability to develop truly “blended” value services—that is, simultaneously socially inclusive, environmentally friendly, and economically sustainable.

Download Full-text

Evidence-Based Public Policy Decision-Making in Smart Cities: Does Extant Theory Support Achievement of City Sustainability Objectives?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su14010003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 3

Author(s):

David Mills ◽

Steven Pudney ◽

Primož Pevcin ◽

Jaroslav Dvorak

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Smart City ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

Evidence Based Decision Making

Evidence-based decision making is promoted as offering efficiency and effectiveness; however, its uptake has faced barriers such as underdeveloped supporting culture, limited access to evidence, and evidence that is not fully relevant. Smart city conceptualizations offer economic and environmental sustainability and better quality of life through evidence-based policy decision-making. We wondered whether smart city theory and practice has advanced the knowledge of evidence-based decision-making. We searched major databases for literature containing a mention of smart cities, decision-making, and policy. We identified relevant literature from a range of disciplines and supplemented these by following backwards and forwards citations. Evidence-based decision-making was found mostly in literature regarding the theory and practice of smart city operations, and, to lesser extents, the articles regarding policy decisions and tactical decisions. Better decision-making which supported the achievement of city sustainability objectives was reported in some articles; however, we found significant obstacles to the further achievement of city objectives in the areas of underachievement in collaborative decision-making, privileging of big data evidence, and artificial intelligence agents as decision-makers. We assembled a definition of smart city decision-making and developed an agenda of research which will support city governments, theorists, and practitioners in better achieving sustainability through improved decision-making.

Download Full-text

Decision-Making in U.S. Foreign Policy Crises: Presidential Leadership and Outcomes

Political Research Quarterly ◽

10.1177/10659129211013893 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 106591292110138

Author(s):

Jonathan W. Keller ◽

Yi Edward Yang ◽

Patrick James

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Policy Decision ◽

The United States ◽

Structural Factors ◽

Quality Of Data ◽

Conflict Setting ◽

Data Set ◽

Data Limitations ◽

Policy Decision Making

Scholars of foreign policy decision-making have argued that international interactions ultimately are grounded in people acting singly or in groups. Unfortunately, data limitations prevent many of these crucial foreign policy decision-making theories from being rigorously tested and systematically compared with theories from alternative perspectives. A promising approach to remedying this deficiency is the addition of decision-making variables to existing, large- N data sets. In this study, we coded a series of foreign policy decision-making variables for all U.S. cases in the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) data set, and examined how these decision-making variables compared with structural factors in shaping crisis outcomes. The results reveal that when controlling for structural factors such as conflict setting and power discrepancy, foreign policy decision-making variables related to leaders’ traits, advisory structure, and the political context shaped the severity and centrality of violence employed by the United States. We conclude that including decision-making variables alongside structural variables will enhance the quality of data analysis in the areas of conflict studies and foreign policy analysis.

Download Full-text