A City Profile within the Smart Environment

Abstract

The paper presents a theoretical exploration on the smart city phenomenon in order to underline its social relevance and to highlight areas for further theoretical and empirical studies. It focuses on the role of the information and ecological paradigms, understood as hegemonic set of values able to create on the one hand new belongings and needs, on the other hand to change the system's function through some socio-cultural pushes. The paper uses a hermeneutic method, proceeding with an analysis of the scientific theories, revealing two basic functions: the reduction of complexity and the increasing of the social interdependence. The suggested case study shows how managerial approach may be highly compatible with smart city principles when perceived from social, communal, democratic, and economic viewpoints. A well-established methodology can serve both as a set of criteria for evaluating smart cities and as a set of guidelines for action, and it would be beneficial if smart city projects would use it explicitly.