A methodological framework for assessment of ubiquitous cities using ANP and DEMATEL methods

Abstract

• Smart and u-city is solution to exacerbating urban problems. • The main components and criteria of a smart and ubiquitous city are introduced. • A methodological framework for establishing and assessment of u-cities is developed. • Using ANP and DEMATEL methods to rank the importance of the criteria/components, the u-coefficients for Tehran and Seoul are calculated 0.449 and 0.918 respectively. • Tehran can be a smart city by enhancing its transportation, healthcare, and economy. The increasing development of civilization is one of the important issues exacerbating urban problems, such as pollution, poor sustainability, and weak security. The creation of ubiquitous cities (u-city), with intelligent convergence systems, is a solution to overcoming these problems. The u-city is at a more advanced level than a smart city, and building a smart city is a step toward the u-city. Thus, this study develops an effective framework to determine the required platform toward establishing a u-city by explores the main components of a smart city, such as citizens, environments, and key infrastructures, and the criteria to measure each component. The interaction between the components and their criteria, are specified using the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods Finally, according to the weights obtained, a ubiquitous coefficient for a city is proposed. In this study, the u-coefficients for Tehran, Iran and Seoul, South Korea are obtained (45% and 92%, respectively), which verify the accuracy of the suggested framework for determining ubiquitous conditions of cities. Tehran has the highest weights in the basic components (citizens and governments) and it needs to invest in building a ubiquitous infrastructure in transportation, healthcare, and the economy.