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3 Ways to become smarter

To understand how cities are using smart approaches case studies were collected and analysed.
These case studies are presented in this section. The criteria for the choice of cases were discussed
during March 2020, and in April 2020 a call for cases was drafted and distributed. More than 30
case studies were proposed and discussed. Cases were submitted and refined between April and
May 2020.

Analysis of the cases shows that they could be grouped into:

1 Local government administration and service-provision,

2 Environmental concerns,
3 People and the city’s relationship with them,

4 Experiences of the city, and
5 City resilience.

These categories were not neat, nor entirely mutually exclusive, but they do correspond to five of
the commonly accepted six smart city dimensions. They also seemed appropriate for the cities
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we are targeting as well as current concerns and agendas. As a result, these categories have been
used to structure this Chapter.

In what follows, some of the smart initiatives in each category are presented and key issues and
concerns for cities pursuing them are discussed. Some cases are presented in full under each
section, while some are discussed more briefly in the text.

This selection of case studies is not intended to be a prescriptive list of smart city initiatives, but
rather as a source of inspiration for cities. Cities should consider the potential benefits and issues
discussed in each section and consider which initiatives might best align with their own needs and
resources.

3.1 Administration and service provision

A good starting point for cities that aspire to being smarter, is to focus on their administration and
internal capacity, to harness technology to improve what they do, and in the process to develop
internal capacity and understanding of the potential of smart technologies and data. The benefit
to cities of starting with their administration is that the city has a large degree of control over these
functions and has access to budgets for their operation.

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