Risk factors in smart city development in Russia: A survey

Abstract

Public managers and academics continue to express interest in smart cities. In contrast with flagrant enthusiasm with regards to technology applications towards achieving such goal, threats to local governments continue to grow across the globe, while risks and concerns remain underexplored in research. By examining a survey where experts rate factors and risks in smart city development, this paper sheds light to an array of vulnerabilities that may be overlooked by public managers and executives and may compromise their smart cities goals. Expanding on literature, findings suggest the most critical smart city development factors are technological (infrastructure development, open data services, availability of information resources), organizational (clear KPIs, coordination procedures, strategic planning, creating business environment, transparency in decision-making) and social ones (preferences in getting e-services, human capital growth). Markedly, experts understood the most serious risks involve technological and social adaption. The results achieved could be of interest for counting risk factors in the emerging smart cities.