Smart Cities and Urban Sustainability
Boglárka Barsi
research fellow, ELTE CERS
assistant professor, Széchenyi István University
Based on Boglárka Barsi (2026) Smart Cities and Urban Sustainability,
In: Vikas, Sharma; Ewelina, Idziak; José, Braga de Vasconcelos; Attila, Kurucz (eds.) Infrastructure Finance and Sustainable Governance, Heidelberg, Germany : Springer Cham (2026) pp. 211-230. Paper: Chapter 11
The study of urban development processes is of multiple importance in terms of today’s environmental crisis. The majority of the world’s rapidly growing population now lives in cities or urban areas. Cities, urban areas, are the centers of human consumption and are significantly responsible for environmental pollution and environmental stress. In addition to the growth of urban population, the spatial expansion of cities, their increasingly extensive land use, and the spread of urban lifestyles in non-urban settlements also play a significant role in the environmental issues of urbanization.
What Makes a City Truly “Smart”?
A smart city is able to respond to the challenges cities face in the twenty-first century, such as climate change, political and economic instability, improve relationships with society, use joint and participatory management methods, adopt information and communication technology, data collection and processing, offer better services and living standards, and will not destroy the resources necessary to fulfill the needs of future generations.
In other words, technology is a tool, not the goal.
The Convergence of Smart and Sustainable
Originally, “smart cities” came from a tech-driven perspective, while “sustainable cities” emerged from ecological concerns. But these two concepts have been converging. The International Telecommunication Union now defines a smart sustainable city as one that “using ICTs and other tools, improves quality of life, efficiency of urban operations, and competitiveness — while ensuring it meets the needs of present and future generations.” (ITU2014, p. 1 ).
The current directions of the convergence process of smartness and sustainability areas follow:
- related to the “sustainability” dimension: instead of focusing on the financial soundness of projects (Popova 2020), an ecological approach emphasizing the interaction of the natural and human spheres is being promoted, and at the same time, an even more complex approach that takes into account the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability (Lehtonen 2004) is being promoted (Toli and Murtagh 2020).
- related to the “smart” dimension: in the conceptual history of the smart city, following the initial, technology-driven phase, the concept of innovation, not necessarily in a technological sense, has become increasingly prominent from the second half of the 2010s onward (Nilssen 2018).).
Critical Lessons from Smart City Projects
When we talk about sustainability, we aim to maintain human-made systems (facilities, sectors, cities, organizations) or prevent human destruction of natural systems. So it is not about protecting nature and the environment per se, but about ensuring the conditions for the functioning of various systems of society and human activities.
Based on decades of research and real-world implementations, here are the most important lessons I’ve identified:
- Technology is not the answer — it’s a means. Large IT companies like IBM, Cisco, and Siemens have developed their own smart city visions. But Townsend (2014) warns that programming too much spontaneity out of cities turns “rich, living creatures into boring machinery.” Songdo City’s failure is a cautionary tale.
- One size does not fit all. Every settlement has different natural endowments, historical roots, traditions, and local conditions. Universal smart city models don’t work.
- Community involvement is non-negotiable. Without local communities’ participation, no smart city project can succeed. This means understanding local needs, constant communication, and genuine willingness to act on feedback.
- Ad-hoc projects without strategy fail. Smart city initiatives shouldn’t be random. Municipalities need a coherent vision, strategy, and understanding of necessary developments and their timing.
- Political will and partnerships matter. Creating a smart city requires cooperation between local government, NGOs, IT companies, universities, urban planners, and citizens. This isn’t easy — but it’s essential.
Where Smart Meets Sustainability
The most promising applications of smart technologies for sustainability include:
- Smart grids for energy efficiency and renewable integration
- Intelligent transportation systems for reduced congestion and emissions
- Smart waste management for circular economies
- Water conservation systems for sustainable resource use
- Green space planning for urban cooling and biodiversity
But here’s the challenge: further smart city developments don’t automatically lead to sustainability. Environmental and social issues aren’t always fully considered. We need intentional design (Blasietal.2022).
A Call for Local Action
One of the strongest arguments is that local communities must take environmental protection into their own hands. International initiatives have a poor track record — economic competition between states makes meaningful commitments difficult. Success happens at the local level, with local buy-in, local knowledge, and local accountability.
As the residents of heavily touristed European cities (Bali, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) have recently shown — when local quality of life suffers, backlash follows.
Looking Forward
The most livable cities of the future won’t be the ones with the most sensors or the fastest data processing. They’ll be the ones that use technology thoughtfully to serve people — reducing noise, preserving green space, ensuring clean water, creating safe public spaces, and building inclusive communities.
Sustainability isn’t a luxury. It’s a condition for competitiveness, livability, and survival.
References:
Blasi S, Ganzaroli A, De Noni I (2022) Smartening sustainable development in cities: strengthening the theoretical linkage between smart cities and SDGs. Sustainable Cities and Society. 80. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103793
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (2014) Agreed definition of a smart sustainable city, Focus Group on Smar tSustainable Cities, SSC–0146 version Geneva, 5–6March
Lehtonen M (2004) The environmental-social interface of sustainable development: capabilities, social capital, institutions. Ecological Economics 49(2): 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004. 03.019
Nilssen M (2018) To the smart city and beyond? Developing a typology of smart urban innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 142 (May): 98–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.060
Popova Y (2020) Economic or financial substantiation for smart city solutions:a literature study. Economic Annals XXI 183 (5–6): 125–133. https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V183-12
Toli A M, Murtagh N (2020) The concept of sustainability in smart city definitions. Frontiers in Built Environment 6 (77): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.0007
Townsend AM (2014) Smart cities: big data, civic hackers, and the quest for a New Utopia, W. W. Norton&Company
