IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v28y2020i5p1347-1365.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A system thinking approach for harmonizing smart and sustainable city initiatives with United Nations sustainable development goals

Author

Listed:
  • Adeeb A. Kutty
  • Galal M. Abdella
  • Murat Kucukvar
  • Nuri C. Onat
  • Melih Bulu

Abstract

Technology has indispensably been a part of the city evolution throughout history. In recent years, there has been a shift in the pattern of development in smart cities, where smart cities attempt to embrace practices of sustainability using Information and Communication Technologies and other smart solutions. Past studies reveal that these smart cities have failed in successfully incorporating sustainable development goals into their smart strategies, where they tend to focus more on achieving smartness goals rather than sustainability goals and targets. This paper presents a multi‐faceted interrogative study on several ongoing smart city initiatives around the globe that supports United Nations Urban Sustainability Agenda. This paper aims to focus on harmonizing smart and sustainable city initiatives with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals using a systems thinking approach. The study develops conceptual models that support the city transition into being a sustainable smart city. These conceptual models were designed based on the fundamentals of system thinking for a system of several elements under the key catalyzers “Policy and Governance,” “Research & Development,” and “Partnership.” The causalities and interrelationships among elements in developed conceptual models justify the dynamicity and the impact of these elements within a system. The outcome of this research paper would support industry experts, policymakers, and city planners to adopt robust policy interventions and best practices for developing strategies that support the transition of smart cities to the futuristic label of sustainable cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Adeeb A. Kutty & Galal M. Abdella & Murat Kucukvar & Nuri C. Onat & Melih Bulu, 2020. "A system thinking approach for harmonizing smart and sustainable city initiatives with United Nations sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1347-1365, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:5:p:1347-1365
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2088
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2088
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2088?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hashem, Ibrahim Abaker Targio & Chang, Victor & Anuar, Nor Badrul & Adewole, Kayode & Yaqoob, Ibrar & Gani, Abdullah & Ahmed, Ejaz & Chiroma, Haruna, 2016. "The role of big data in smart city," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 748-758.
    2. Sivan Hisham Al Jarah & Bo Zhou & Rebaz Jalil Abdullah & Yawen Lu & Wenting Yu, 2019. "Urbanization and Urban Sprawl Issues in City Structure: A Case of the Sulaymaniah Iraqi Kurdistan Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Margarita Angelidou, 2017. "The Role of Smart City Characteristics in the Plans of Fifteen Cities," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 3-28, October.
    4. Joanna Poyago-Theotoky & John Beath & Donald S. Siegel, 2002. "Universities and Fundamental Research: Reflections on the Growth of University--Industry Partnerships," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 10-21, Spring.
    5. Yigitcanlar, Tan & Han, Hoon & Kamruzzaman, Md. & Ioppolo, Giuseppe & Sabatini-Marques, Jamile, 2019. "The making of smart cities: Are Songdo, Masdar, Amsterdam, San Francisco and Brisbane the best we could build?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Robert G. Hollands, 2008. "Will the real smart city please stand up?," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 303-320, December.
    7. Nayef Alghais & David Pullar & Elin Charles-Edwards, 2018. "Accounting for peoples’ preferences in establishing new cities: A spatial model of population migration in Kuwait," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-31, December.
    8. Nuri Cihat Onat & Murat Kucukvar & Anthony Halog & Scott Cloutier, 2017. "Systems Thinking for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: A Review of Recent Developments, Applications, and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-25, April.
    9. Yigitcanlar, Tan & Kamruzzaman, Md., 2018. "Does smart city policy lead to sustainability of cities?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 49-58.
    10. Stanislav E. Shmelev & Irina A. Shmeleva, 2018. "Global urban sustainability assessment: A multidimensional approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 904-920, November.
    11. John Joshua, 2017. "China's Economic Growth: Towards Sustainable Economic Development and Social Justice," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-59403-7.
    12. Abouzar Zangoueinezhad & Adel Azar, 2014. "How public-private partnership projects impact infrastructure industry for economic growth," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(10), pages 994-1010, October.
    13. John Joshua, 2017. "China's Economic Growth: Towards Sustainable Economic Development and Social Justice," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-59435-8.
    14. Joanna Poyago-Theotoky & John Beath & Donald S. Siegel, 2002. "Universities and Fundamental Research: Reflections on the Growth of University--Industry Partnerships," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 10-21, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ernesto E. Empig & Ahmet Sivacioğlu & Renato S. Pacaldo & Peter D. Suson & Rabby Q. Lavilles & Maria Rizalia Y. Teves & Maria Cecilia M. Ferolin & Ruben F. Amparado, 2023. "Climate Change, Sustainable Forest Management, ICT Nexus, and the SDG 2030: A Systems Thinking Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Lan Yang & Kathryn Cormican, 2021. "The Crossovers and Connectivity between Systems Engineering and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Scoping Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Yutong Tang & Fengyu Gao & Chen Wang & Merit M. Huang & Mabao Wu & Heng Li & Zhuo Li, 2023. "Vertical Greenery System (VGS) Renovation for Sustainable Arcade-Housing: Building Energy Efficiency Analysis Based on Digital Twin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Fangli Ruan, 2023. "The Driving Role of Food and Cultivated Land Resource in Balancing the Complex Urban System of Socio-Economy and Environment: A Case Study of Shanghai City in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Seunghwan Myeong & Khurram Shahzad, 2021. "Integrating Data-Based Strategies and Advanced Technologies with Efficient Air Pollution Management in Smart Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Aleksandra Plonka & Ewa Heczko-Hylowa & Wojciech Sroka, 2021. "Role of Spatial Planning in the Restitution and Development of Urban Agriculture," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2B), pages 698-711.
    7. Agnieszka Deja & Tygran Dzhuguryan & Lyudmyla Dzhuguryan & Oleg Konradi & Robert Ulewicz, 2021. "Smart Sustainable City Manufacturing and Logistics: A Framework for City Logistics Node 4.0 Operations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Farah Mneimneh & Hasan Ghazzawi & Mohammad Abu Hejjeh & Matteo Manganelli & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2023. "Roadmap to Achieving Sustainable Development via Green Hydrogen," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Johannes Stübinger & Lucas Schneider, 2020. "Understanding Smart City—A Data-Driven Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-23, October.
    2. Hannele Ahvenniemi & Aapo Huovila, 2021. "How do cities promote urban sustainability and smartness? An evaluation of the city strategies of six largest Finnish cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 4174-4200, March.
    3. Tan Yigitcanlar & Kevin C. Desouza & Luke Butler & Farnoosh Roozkhosh, 2020. "Contributions and Risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Building Smarter Cities: Insights from a Systematic Review of the Literature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-38, March.
    4. Link, Albert N. & Siegel, Donald S., 2005. "University-based technology initiatives: Quantitative and qualitative evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 253-257, April.
    5. Geuna, Aldo & Nesta, Lionel J.J., 2006. "University patenting and its effects on academic research: The emerging European evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 790-807, July.
    6. Gál, Zoltán & Ptáček, Pavel, 2010. "The role of mid-range universities in knowledge transfer: the case of non-metropolitan regions in Central and Eastern Europe (examples from Hungary and the Czech Republic)," MPRA Paper 28358, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Jan 2011.
    7. Wright, Mike & Clarysse, Bart & Lockett, Andy & Knockaert, Mirjam, 2008. "Mid-range universities' linkages with industry: Knowledge types and the role of intermediaries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1205-1223, September.
    8. Lill Sarv & Ralf-Martin Soe, 2021. "Transition towards Smart City: The Case of Tallinn," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Scandura, Alessandra & Bolzani, Daniela, 2020. "The Role of Collaboration Networks for Innovation in Immigrant-Owned New Technology-Based Firms," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 202004, University of Turin.
    10. Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin & Emmanuelle Taugourdeau, 2015. "Research clusters: How public subsidies matter?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01159523, HAL.
    11. Sam Hak Kan Tang, 2018. "Does Scientific And Technical Research Reduce Macroeconomic Volatility?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 68-88, January.
    12. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco, 2018. "Measuring the Performance in Creative Cities: Proposal of a Multidimensional Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.
    13. Humberto Merritt, 2015. "The Role of Human Capital in University-Business Cooperation: The Case of Mexico," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 6(3), pages 568-588, September.
    14. Mona Treude, 2021. "Sustainable Smart City—Opening a Black Box," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    15. Olszewski, Robert & Wendland, Agnieszka, 2021. "Digital Agora – Knowledge acquisition from spatial databases, geoinformation society VGI and social media data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    16. Jia Guo & Shiyan Ma & Xiang Li, 2022. "Exploring the Differences of Sustainable Urban Development Levels from the Perspective of Multivariate Functional Data Analysis: A Case Study of 33 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Marie‐Laure Cabon‐Dhersin & Emmanuelle Taugourdeau, 2018. "Location and research activities organization: Could public/private cooperation be harmful?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 883-907, November.
    18. Réjean Landry & Nabil Amara & Mathieu Ouimet, 2007. "Determinants of knowledge transfer: evidence from Canadian university researchers in natural sciences and engineering," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 32(6), pages 561-592, December.
    19. Segarra Blasco, Agustí & Arauzo Carod, Josep Maria, 2005. "External sources of innovation and industry-university interaction:evidence from Spanish firms," Working Papers 2072/1751, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    20. Wang, Mengmeng & Zhou, Tao, 2022. "Understanding the dynamic relationship between smart city implementation and urban sustainability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:5:p:1347-1365. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.