Measuring and Managing the Smartness of Cities: A Framework for Classifying Performance Indicators

TLDR

Urban population growth demands smart cities that are operationally efficient, socially friendly, environmentally sustainable, and cost‑effective. The paper proposes a framework to classify smart‑city performance indicators. The framework uses two dimensions—objective variable degree and technology‑level for data collection—and is illustrated with the Bari municipality case.

Abstract

Due to the continuous increase of the world population living in cities, it is crucial to identify strategic plans and perform associated actions to make cities smarter, i.e., more operationally efficient, socially friendly, and environmentally sustainable, in a cost effective manner. To achieve these goals, emerging smart cities need to be optimally and intelligently measured, monitored, and managed. In this context the paper proposes the development of a framework for classifying performance indicators of a smart city. It is based on two dimensions: the degree of objectivity of observed variables and the level of technological advancement for data collection. The paper shows an application of the presented framework to the case of the Bari municipality (Italy).