Smart City for Smaller and Rural Communities: Bridging the "Digital Divide"

Spicer et al. (2021) found that the main narrative in Smart City development focus on larger urban areas as the framework targets to solve problems such as congestions, pollution, and population growth. Smaller cities or rural communities are often overlooked in the discussion, despite them also could greatly benefit from the adoption of Smart City. However, the one-size-fits-all approach that many corporations often offer to larger cities, may not be suitable for the small cities. 

One major problem of smaller towns and rural communities is the general lacks reliable connection to high-speed internet connection and other required technologies to compete with bigger cities. The technological gap between the urban centres and rural areas are usually called the “digital divide”. Furthermore, smaller cities or rural communities may focus on the enhancement of the resident’s quality of life the sustainability of community health when adopting the Smart City. 

Study on small and rural cities in Canada showed that adoption of smart city stems from the concern of attracting business and residents as well as updating technological infrastructure in the area that are usually outdated. Technological update can attract younger residents, retain residents to stay in the community longer and promote the long-term demographic health of these communities. Continuous effort to bridge the digital divide, may foster the advancement of agricultural sector in the area, and by encouraging innovation and production. In addition, the pursuit of Smart City benefit the community by providing a link to opportunities that usually only available in large cities such as labour mobility, access to better medical care or other economic opportunity.

Reference

Spicer, Z., Goodman, N., & Olmstead, N. (2021). The frontier of digital opportunity: Smart city implementation in small, rural and remote communities in Canada. Urban studies, 58(3), 535-558.