Smart City: A Critical Assessment

This contributed volume reports on a multidisciplinary collective work on the topic of Smart City, merging scientific reflections and operational issues. Here, current Smart Cities concepts are subjected to criticism, while the related terminology has been updated to contemplate a model of urban development capable of integrating technical and humanistic culture by fostering an open dialogue between different stakeholders. Upon an introduction to the state of the art, this book presents a glossary of definitions and concepts around the contemporary city, and five interviews with researchers and scholars of different background. The last chapter summarizes current challenges in designing the city of the future, highlighting new research directions in home-infrastructure, small smart city, energy transition, connectivity, digitalization and autonomous and connected mobility.
Written by the members of the Scientific Committee of the Smart City 4.0 Sustainable LAB Research Laboratory, an inter-university network including research groups from the University of Parma, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Bologna, University of Ferrara, the Polytechnic University of Milan, and the Catholic University of Milan with its Piacenza campus, this book offers a source of inspiration for other researchers and stakeholders, and it is intended to foster collaborations between different stakeholders - and possibly countries - to develop future cities that are wise, green, sustainable and inclusive.

Dario Costi, Arch. PhD, is Full Professor in Architectural and Urban Design in the Department of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma. He is the Director of the interdisciplinary teaching and research project "Smart City 4.0 Sustainable LAB", which is promoted by the University of Parma in cooperation with the Emilia-Romagna regional government and the public digital infrastructure Lepida, and involves the Universities of Ferrara, Bologna, Modena and Reggio-Emila, Piacenza as well as local Authorities and stakeholders. He is member of the PhD Program in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of Parma and at the Faculties of Architecture of the University of Palermo and Sapienza University of Rome. He is active both as a professional and as a researcher in the architectural and urban design field. He is the co-owner of the MC2 Architecture Studio in Parma. Since 2007 he is serving as President of Parma Urban Center, of which he is also the co-founder. Involved in numerous national projects for fostering education in architecture and urban design, Professor Costi is the author of many Italian publications, and Editor of two Italian book series published by MUP Editore, Parma. Since 2020, he is the editor of the international book series "The City Project - Strategies for Smart and Wise Sustainable Urban Design", published by Springer. He is also serving as a lecturer for the Program Master Housing at Roma Tre University, in Rome, and for other Master Programs at the University of Parma, Trani, Lecce and Matera. Since 2018 he is serving as Scientific Director of the Higher Education Courses in Urban Strategic Design at the LUM School of Management in Bari. Since 2021, as part of this collaboration, he has been developing the guidelines for the urban regeneration of Italian cities for the SNA - National School of Administration.
Giovanni Leoni is Full Professor in History of Architecture at the University of Bologna where he directed the Department of Architecture, the Doctorate in Architecture and Design Cultures and was a member of the Board of Directors. His research focuses on the theory and practice of design between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with particular attention to models of creativity, the relationship between Personality and Anonymity and the role of architectural design in social and political processes. He edits the journals Histories of Postwar Architecture and European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes (with Carole Hein, TU Delft). He coordinated, for the University of Bologna, the H2020 project ROCK Regeneration and Optimisation of Cultural heritage in creative and Knowledge cities and is part of the Bologna unit of the PNRR project CHANGES Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Sustainable Society, Spoke 7, theme: The historic Italian city as a model for sustainable urban development. He has published extensively on the themes ofarchitecture and the city in Emilia-Romagna in the second half of the 20th century.