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Digital Divide in Advanced Smart City Innovations

Author

Listed:
  • Seung-Yoon Shin

    (Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)

  • Dongwook Kim

    (Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)

  • Soon Ae Chun

    (College of Staten Island, City University of New York, New York, NY 10314, USA)

Abstract

A smart city aims to become a citizen-centered city where citizens actively engage in urban operation and share urban data within a high-tech ICT infrastructure. It premises ‘smart citizens’ who can understand and utilize digital technology to adapt well to the various infrastructure of smart cities. In reality, however, not only tech-savvy citizens but those who are not likely to coexist in a smart city. Disadvantaged groups with relatively insufficient awareness and the necessity of technologies might be excluded from smart cities’ various benefits. The smart city innovations need to encompass diverse social groups’ engagements to claim their legitimacy and sustainability from a long-term perspective. In this light, this study examines the potential digital divide in the advanced technologies used in the emerging 5G smart city era. Using survey data, we investigate if the smart citizens’ social and technical readiness in terms of the use experience and necessity of new technologies can predict the adoption and use of the emerging 5G smart city innovations. The empirical results from this study can inform the digital divide between the general public and technology-disadvantaged groups. The findings can also guide policymakers in prioritizing technologies that are accessible and beneficial to all potential residents of smart cities in the future. Finally, the results yield specific policy implications for practitioners who design more inclusive and sustainable smart cities in the 5G era.

Suggested Citation

  • Seung-Yoon Shin & Dongwook Kim & Soon Ae Chun, 2021. "Digital Divide in Advanced Smart City Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4076-:d:531023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marcin Janusz & Marcin Kowalczyk, 2022. "How Smart Are V4 Cities? Evidence from the Multidimensional Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Giovanni Baldi & Antonietta Megaro & Luca Carrubbo, 2022. "Small-Town Citizens’ Technology Acceptance of Smart and Sustainable City Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Rodríguez Bolívar, Manuel Pedro & Alcaide Muñoz, Laura & Alcaide Muñoz, Cristina, 2023. "Identifying patterns in smart initiatives' planning in smart cities. An empirical analysis in Spanish smart cities," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Raisa Sultana & Scott Hawken, 2023. "Reconciling Nature-Technology-Child Connections: Smart Cities and the Necessity of a New Paradigm of Nature-Sensitive Technologies for Today’s Children," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-19, April.

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