Systematisation of Approaches to Assessing the Development of Smart Cities

Abstract

The study aims to systematise the existing methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities, elaborated by a number of international institutions (organizations). Moreover, it identifies characteristics of the assessment and possibilities of its application in the Russian context. We considered the fundamentals of a smart city’s development as our research object. Methodological approaches to assessing the development of smart cities are our research subject. We analysed scientific research, published in the periodical press, as well as the results of the authors’ study on the digitization processes of socio-economic systems, the principles of the urban environment’s digitization, and the urban development’s fundamentals based on the smart city’s concept. The research method is a logical analysis of modern approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The paper identifies and analyses the main characteristics and conditions for the effective functioning of smart cities. We consider a model of the development levels of a smart city. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of cooperation among stakeholders in the field of the urban environment’s development, as it creates new opportunities and ensures the long-term viability of smart cities’ projects. We note that one of the most important factors in the development of smart cities is the increment in human capital of their inhabitants. Lifelong learning and advanced training are becoming a condition for the development of modern socio-economic systems. The dominant role of highly-skilled creative work becomes the determining factor for the development of a new type of society and its inherent economy. In the paper, we have described and systemized the main approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. We have formulated a number of principles for constructing a methodology for assessing smart cities. The study has theoretical relevance due to the development of approaches to assessing the development of smart cities. The practical significance of the research lies in shaping possible future studies of rational economic management in the context of the digital society.

Keywords

• smart city
• digital economy
• methodology
• model
• assessment methodology
• urban environment
• sustainable development
• municipal economy
• territorial development
• regional economy