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Advances in smart cities : smarter people, governance, and solutions
Kar A., Gupta M., Ilavarasan P., Dwivedi Y., Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 2017. 229 pp. Type: Book (978-1-498795-70-8)
Date Reviewed: Mar 16 2018

With the growth of information technology (IT), cities are growing through enhanced technologies, giving rise to the concept of the smart city. This book explains the concept of a smart city, its requirements, how it works, further developments, and perspectives.

The book comprises 15 conference papers in the form of chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the smart city concept, and stresses factors like public policy, engineering, process management, and urban governance for a better scope of understanding of smart cities. Chapter 2, a literature review, highlights the benefits (sustainability, urban development, entertainment, and public participation) and challenges or issues (political, human, security, and technological) of a smart city. Chapter 3 gives an overview of smart cities, covering topics such as economy, mobility, environment, living, governance, and people. Further, the authors introduce the five-factor model (FFM) based on five personality traits: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. In chapter 4, the authors describe principles of township planning using factors like housing, zoning, green spaces, recreational centers, road systems, transport facilities, public buildings, and commercial buildings. They further describe two case studies of integrated township planning of cities (Magarpatta City and Bhartiya City). Furthermore, the authors describe five supporting infrastructures (sustainable water management, decentralized wastewater treatment systems, integrated solid waste management systems, solar energy generation, and transportation facilities) and three sustainability indicators (environmental, social, and economic). In chapter 5, the authors discuss three case studies: e-filing of income tax, the Passport Seva project, and the MCA21 project of the Indian Ministries of Finance, External Affairs, and Corporate Affairs.

Chapter 6 presents a comparison based on the manufacturing sector between India and China using factors like gross domestic product (GDP), GDP growth rate, manufacturing value added, foreign direct investment, and ease of doing business. Chapter 7 gathers three major issues and challenges of smart villages in India--likely budget constraints, smart technology, and lack of knowledge--and four parameters of performance measurement: process, financial, customer perspectives, and learning and growth. In chapter 8, the authors discuss two diagrammatic models (causal and loop diagram (CLD), and stock and flow diagram) considering smart mobility only, a dimension of a smart city, and proposing predictions for variables such as public transport capacity, local accessibility, and population. (The label of Figure 8.3 is “Close loop diagram,” while it refers to CLD.)

Chapter 9 covers immediate questions about smart city technologies, such as: Will copying ideas from developed countries work? How much easier will land acquisition be for smart cities? Who is going to control the smart city? It also discusses why smart cities are not just an information technology (IT) solution, end users as an obstacle to energy efficiencies and sustainability (an oversimplified idea), the legitimacy of smart cities, safeguarding slum dwellers, and identifying natural (organic) growth. Chapter 10 introduces an electronic ticket-issuing machine (ETIM) mobile application using cloud-based model-enhancing cashless payments. Specifically, the authors promote ETIM usage with an example of a bus conductor/staff and passengers.

Chapter 11 focuses on daylight optimization techniques using a case study of an institutional building in India with emphasis on techno-economic evaluation involving initial capital cost, benefit-to-cost ratio, and carbon dioxide emissions reduction. Chapter 12 covers five technology-based consumer contacts: free, assisted, facilitated, mediated, and generated. Further, the authors discuss risk, perceived risk, and its different facets: performance, financial, opportunity/time, psychological, social, privacy, physical/safety, and overall.

Chapter 13 provides an overview of the impact of three mobile commerce perspectives on individuals, businesses/workplaces, and society, and briefly discusses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. Chapter 14 illustrates the interrelationship between decision support systems and mobility in smart cities. The authors discuss low-carbon transportation networks for smart cities using two case studies, a manufacturing company and an international automobile firm in a local area and connected to global suppliers, in chapter 15.

The references at the end of each chapter make it easy for readers to go through the current scenario of smart city development. In addition, there is a list of contributors to this edited book--the authors of the included papers. The essence of the book is the pragmatic and/or prospective “challenges of smart cities in an e-governance context.” The authors end the book with a concise index. This is an interesting read for professionals and research scientists working in smart city governance and development. The description about smart cities and the various challenges proliferating their development, and their prospective solutions, makes this book worth reading.

Reviewer:  Lalit Saxena Review #: CR145915 (1806-0303)
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Organizational Impacts (K.4.3 )
 
 
Applications And Expert Systems (I.2.1 )
 
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