Partnership and governance for smart cities

Abstract

Many smart city publications talk of a need for new models of partnership working: public–private partnerships that create a shared vision for the smart city, bringing together leaders from city government, national government, health services, universities, business, social enterprises and the community sector. But as it is already known, crucial to the acceptance and success of smart cities is the involvement of citizens. Cities in which citizens take a central role are creating public–private– people partnerships.

There’s no clear beginning or end to the process of becoming smart: the road to smart cities is a transition process that can take 10, 15 or even 20 years. Today’s decisions on city infrastructures and services will have consequences for the future generations who live in the city. There needs to be a huge cultural shift away from working in silos and towards integration across organizations, cities and countries. Smart city partnerships need to bring people together but they also need to be a vehicle that commissions and manages smart infrastructure and technology, dealing with issues such as finance, privacy and security.

This paper will discuss about this issue providing examples of success stories found in Europe and across the world.