1. Innovations of Governance in
Cities and Urban Regions
Smart Cities in
China, IskandarMalasya, Japan, New York and Tarragona
Spain
Olga Gil and Carmen Navarro
Image: FIFTYMM69 EN FLICKRImage: FIFTYMM69 EN FLICKRImage Olimpic Stadium Beijin by Flash Parker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawnparkerphoto
EURA CONFERENCE: CITIES AS SHEEDBEDS FOR INNOVATION
4-6 JULY 2013, ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS

2. Us
Prof. Dr. Olga Gil
Department of PoliticalScience, UAM
Researchonregulation of technology in comparativeperspective
@OlgaG olgagil@olgagil.es
Prof. Dr. Carmen Navarro
Head of DepartmentPoliticalScience
UAM
Researchoncomparative local government

3. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart cities
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis
5. Analysis and findings
3

4. • “Research” question on Governance:
– what are the variations on smart cities initiatives?
• Approach/hypothesis:
– Exploratory / factors to advance smart plans are
key to differentiate models of urban governance
4
Questions and approach
@OlgaG

5. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart cities
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis
5. Analysis and findings
5

6. • Quality of life, productivity, growth effects of
human capital (Jesse Shapiro, 2006)
• Metropolitan area with a large share of
population with university degrees (Winters
2011)
• European tradition: creative class, quality of
urban environment, level of
education, accesibility of to and use of ICT
(Caragliu, 2011)
2. Definition: What makes a city smart?
Human capital
6
@OlgaG

7. Tradition departing from a smart concept constrained to
the world of devices:
• Theuse of networkedinfrastructures as a
meanstoenable social, environmental, economic, and
cultural development(Hollands 2008)
• Includes two forms of intelligence: human and
collective, from skills to social and political institutions
articulating cooperation (Komninos 2009).
• Emphasizes people and interactions (Allwinkle and
Cruicksanks2011)
2. Definition: What makes a city smart?
Human capital
7
@OlgaG

8. Combining e-government, information
science, urban studies and public
administration
Chourabiet al. (2012) identify eight critical factors
allowing us to compare:
• Management and organization
• Technology
• Governance
• Policy context
• People and communities
• Economy
• Built infrastructure
2. Definition: What makes a city smart?
Technology
8

9. 2. Definition: Framework for analysis
Allows:
• Explanatory attempt at evaluating factors and success of projects
• Different visions of smart design and implementation 9

10. Smart concept wider than the world of devices:
“The most important things about information technology: the
possibility to empower and educate citizens… to engage
them in a debate about environment and aspirations”
“How citizens interact are key to any successful
community, enterprise or venture”
Howshallweunderstanddigital literacy?
Lackingliteraturefromsmartcitytheoreticalperspectives
. Findingreferencestoco-creation as processwherepeople and
communitymight be part of thedesignprocess
2. Definition: What makes a city smart?
Digital Literacy for the XXI century
10
@OlgaG

11. 2. Definition: Framework for analysis
Allows:
• Explanatory attempt at evaluating factors and success of projects
• Different visions of smart design and implementation
11
Governance

12. 2. Definition: Hypothesis and cases
Hypothesis: Factors to advance smart plans are key to
differentiate models of urban governance
Choice of cases: Driven by interest
(China, Japan, Iskandar (Malaysia), New
York, Tarragona (Spain).
• To learn from innovation practices in different world
institutional settings
• Different innovation rates
• Attempt to tackle differences and similarities in both OCDE
and non OCDE countries
• Interested in variations in the universe of cases
12
@OlgaG

13. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis
5. Analysis and findings
13

14. 3. Context: Smart cities in the world
agenda
An interest in China in city development far from the
growth model (Lin 2002)
OCDE and European Union link the concept of
sustainable environment, competition and cohesion
with smart cities (2005)
City initiatives:
Amsterdam, Southamton, Edimburgh, Malta, Philadel
phia, Seattle, Quebec, Mexico city…
Business initiatives: IBM, Siemens, Oracle, Ferrovial
European Union research and policy projects: 14
@OlgaG

15. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis
5. Analysis and findings
15

16. 4. Cases for analysis
Unit of observation is each smart city initiative
However, cities and smart initiatives vary widely in
demographics, economy, location, population growth and levels of urban
development. Some countries choose metropolitan regions (Japan)
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17. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis: China
5. Analysis and findings
17

18. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis: Iskandar
5. Analysis and findings
18

19. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis: Japan
5. Analysis and findings
19

20. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis: New York
5. Analysis and findings
20

21. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis: Tarragona
5. Analysis and findings
21
@OlgaG

22. 1. Questions and approach
2. Definitions of smart
3. The context: setting the agenda for
smart cities worldwide
4. Cases for analysis
5. Analysis and findings
22
@OlgaG

23. 5. Analysis and Findings
Interesting similarities and differences among cases:
• Multi faceted sides of the smart concept are being
established locally, by national and/or local
governments.
• Governance depends on vision
• The stress on what smarts entails is very different
and open to policy conceptualization --in some
cases, open to society engagement.
23
@OlgaG

24. 5. Analysis and Findings
5.3. Governance Models I: different in the cases explored.
• China local governments partner with universities, firms, foreign firms as
well as banks. Users are not part of the equation as developers.
• In Japan local governments partner with firms in different industry sectors
including the university, technological firms, power –including gas- as well as
real estate firms
• In Iskandargovernance depends on the Regional Authority appointed for the
development of the conceived smart city.
• In New York we find the leadership of the city government, the university as
well as a general call to citizens developers through open technologies.
• Tarragonasteering committee is a Foundation.
Governance models are affected by the policy context. We find a mayor leap of
the central government in the cases of China, Iskandar and Japan, while New York
and Tarragona respond to autonomous local policies.
Further research: on collaboration, leadership, participation and
partnership, communication, data exchange, accountability, transparency
and service and application integration
24
@OlgaG

25. This is a short version of the paper and presentation given at EURA 2013
Thank you!
@OlgaG
olgagil@olgagil.es