Designing the Urban Smart Futures Agenda for Lancaster, UK

Abstract

The smart city concept has garnered a lot of interest; however, it often falls short when it comes to providing clarity on the benefits it can offer. Discussing smartness in the context of cities and their inhabitants requires the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in decision-making. Similarly, the decision-making process is often unclear and can lack integrity. For this reason, in this research, we clarify this process and establish a smart agenda for urban areas. Specifically, this study focusses on the existing research in truly smart cities (where liveability is at the heart of decision-making). The research team implemented the assessment model (SMART) during a facilitated workshop under COVID-19 restrictions. Taking societal, environmental, health, economic, and governance liveability perspectives into account, the results yielded a set of recommendations for designing the smart urban agenda, which can support cities that aspire to become smart.