Smart City Promises and Environmental Reality: Evidence from Polish Urban Areas

Sustainability is a key component of the contemporary Smart City (SC) concept, particularly regarding its environmental dimension. However, few studies have investigated the actual environmental sustainability of cities, and even fewer have examined this phenomenon from the perspective of residents, who are the primary urban stakeholders and ultimate beneficiaries of Smart City solutions. The main objective of this study was to assess the environmental aspects of quality of life in seven large Polish cities, considering both the residents’ perspectives and available environmental data. This study employed a diagnostic survey conducted on a representative sample of 491 residents, as well as analyses of environmental data on air and drinking water quality, municipal waste management systems, and measures undertaken by city authorities for environmental protection. The analysis of results utilized descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and a multi-criteria method for hierarchizing the examined cities in terms of subjective and objective environmental sustainability. The results indicate low or, at best, moderate environmental sustainability of the analyzed urban centers. The residents are most critical of authorities’ actions regarding environmental protection and express dissatisfaction with air quality and the availability of environmental information. Statistical data further reveal that residents of the studied cities consume increasing amounts of water and generate growing quantities of waste each year. Their consumption patterns thus remain inconsistent with the concept of sustainable consumption, failing to support environmental sustainability. The research findings presented in this article—both general and detailed—demonstrate a significant gap between theoretical assumptions and practice in realizing the smart city concept.