Smart Cities: A Review and Analysis of Stakeholders’ Literature

Recent literature on smart cities stresses the role of digitization in tackling urban issues such as environmental degradation and poverty. The wicked nature of these issues gives rise to the need to understand the diverse perspectives of relevant stakeholder groups on smart cities. However, existing research that compares these perspectives tends to exclude the beliefs of those living in smart cities. Integrating these beliefs in smart city discourses is paramount to increase the likelihood that these systems will be accepted. With the view that the literature consumed by an audience will influence that audience’s perspectives, the main aim of this study is to compare and contrast the pertinent topics found in various types of literature on smart cities. Using an innovative approach of literature comparison, based on a semantic entity annotator and keyword analysis, this article extracts and compares topics in news media (for citizens), trade publications (for businesses), academic articles (for research organizations) and government reports (for governments). The findings suggest that citizens tend to be under-represented in discussions on smart cities and highlight those topics considered relevant only by smart city citizens. Increased understanding in this area can help guide discussions and policies that are relevant for all stakeholders.