Policy Recommendations for Improving Urban Smartness

To embrace urban transformation toward smart city development, the local government needs to not only prepare the installation of ICT. Smart cities also benefit from strengthening the city's physical and social readiness to acquire optimal growth. The following are FOUR policy recommendations to nurture the key elements of urban smartness:

1. Establish a network, to strengthen the connectivity to other cities and major urban centres. Cities should boost their physical linkage with stronger transport infrastructure. On the other hand, improve the communication link through high-speed internet and digital infrastructure. This ensures the movement of goods and people that further contribute to the accessibility of service and spread of services and knowledge networks between smart cities.  
2. Improve physical and social infrastructure, this advances the quality of human and social capital of the city. Social infrastructure such as education, health and community centres serve as a service catchment that facilitate participation and connectivity, improving smart city transformation readiness.
3. Increase density, which is not only about increasing the numbers of population in an area but also about containing urban sprawl and increasing the efficiency of city resources such as the limited land area, water availability and energy.
4. Encourage innovation and employment opportunities, in the effort of lowering the unemployment rate, cities should push for innovation and entrepreneurship which can take the form of fostering business start-ups, creating collaborative working space, or develop dedicated innovation district of similar and complementary industries where firms can gather and share knowledge resources

Reference

Yigitcanlar, T., Degirmenci, K., Butler, L., & Desouza, K. C. (2022). What are the key factors affecting smart city transformation readiness? Evidence from Australian cities. Cities, 120, 103434.