Page 230 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

There are several definitions of a city. A city can be classified according to its population density and
its level of urbanization. Both variables are related to the human intervention over a populated area.
Those areas with high population density appear to be the most heavily modified when compared
with their original landscapes. This reflects the intensity of human activities which have taken place
in the area. However, defining a city only from a statistical point of view can be misleading.

From an economic point of view, the emergence of agglomeration economies causes an increase in
productivity and efficiency in a city. Meanwhile, it reduces transportation and communications costs,
stimulates the labor division and promotes the development of economies of scale and increasing
returns to scale. These agglomeration economies partially explain the process of urbanization, since
people move to cities when companies move business there. Historically, this process has been
associated with two major structural changes; firstly, the development of the agricultural and
industrial sectors and secondly, the expansion of the services sector.

Nowadays, the world is facing a third structural advancement with the development and application
of the information and communications technology (ICT). In accordance with this development,
there have been several novel concepts for cities based on ICT. The reputed sociologist, Manuel
Castells, an influential thinker on the changes caused by ICT, developed the idea of an Informational
City. This concept is related to the communication flows among a city.
It is important to recognize that in order to be part of this ICT based metamorphosis, cities need to
incorporate infrastructures that have the capacity to utilize the potential of ICT and combine them
with the existing infrastructure (such as building, roads, etc.). For this reason, the "convergence" ICT
idea is applied to the infrastructure for "Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC)". For instance, electricity
networks serve as routes outlined to telecommunications transport networks (which also develops
with better control on the electrical system using SCADA systems). The use of buildings for the
installation of raised elements such as antennas and base stations is also required.
Therefore, ICT acts as an enabler to construct SSC with it is intelligent and efficient use of resources
being the focus. Consequently using ICTs in SSC results in cost and energy saving, increased
economic growth, improved quality of life (QoL), and reduced environmental footprint.
A definition of Smart Sustainable Cities is available in deliverable SSC‐0146 "Agreed definition of a
Smart Sustainable City" of this focus group.

1.2 Stakeholders in SSC

Stakeholders refer to the major players involved in SSC establishment and functioning. The
classification of these stakeholders is diverse. In particular, the classification of interdependent and
standalone stakeholders distinguishes public and private institutions, local and supra‐local entities,
1
as well as commercial and non‐commercial entities. The following diagram shows an example of
the interrelationships between some key stakeholders.

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1 Adapted from "Broadband and Local Government: evaluation of experiences and recommendations".
United Nations (CEPAL). September 2007

220 ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications