Table 2 Common definitions of smart cities

Bowerman et al. (2000)

A city that monitors and integrates conditions of all of its critical infrastructures including roads, bridges, tunnels, rails, subways, airports, sea-ports, communications, water, power, even major buildings, can better optimize its resources, plan its preventive maintenance activities, and monitor security aspects while maximising services to its citizens.

Giffinger et al. (2007)

A city well performing in a forward-looking way in [economy, people, governance, mobility, environment, and living] built on the smart combination of endowments and activities of self-decisive, independent and aware citizens.

Rios (2008)

A city that gives inspiration, shares culture, knowledge, and life, a city that motivates its inhabitants to create and flourish in their own lives. An admired city, a vessel to intelligence, but ultimately an incubator of empowered spaces.

Caragliu et al. (2009)

A city to be smart when investments in human and social capital and traditional (transport) and modern (ICT) communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic growth and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources, through participatory governance.

Eger (2009)

A particular idea of local community, one where city governments, enterprises and residents use ICTs to reinvent and reinforce the community’s role in the new service economy, create jobs locally and improve the quality of community life.

González and Rossi (2011)

A public administration or authorities that delivers (or aims to) a set of new generation services and infrastructure, based on information and communication technologies

Nam and Pardo (2011)

A humane city that has multiple opportunities to exploit its human potential and lead a creative life.

Zhao (2011)

Improving the quality of life in a city, including ecological, cultural, political, institutional, social, and economic components without leaving a burden on future generations.

Lazaroiu (2012)

The smart city represents the future challenge, a city model where the technology is in service to the person and to his economic and social life quality improvement.

Schaffers et al. (2012)

Smart city is referred as the safe, secure environmentally green, and efficient urban centre of the future with advanced infrastructures such as sensors, electronics, and networks to stimulate sustainable economic growth and a high quality of life.

Piro et al. (2014)

A smart city is intended as an urban environment which, supported by pervasive ICT systems, is able to offer advanced and innovative services to citizens in order to improve the overall quality of their life.

Yigitcanlar (2016)

A smart city could be an ideal form to build the sustainable cities of the 21^st century, in the case that a balanced and sustainable view on economic, societal, environmental and institutional development is realised.