Smart Cities in Switzerland: Theory and Practice

This paper examines the comprehensive approach taken by Swiss cities to integrate smart city concepts, emphasizing sustainability, technological innovation, participation, and quality of life. Switzerland’s high standard of living, strong economy, and commitment to environmental stewardship provide a robust foundation for these initiatives. The paper begins with an introduction to the Swiss understanding of smart cities, which stemmed from projects of energy efficiency and was thus strictly technical. It then evolved encompassing the smart city concept as a whole, beginning the current trend of smart development revolved around citizen centricity and quality of life. As shown in the paper, Swiss smart cities perform excellently in global rankings and prioritise integrating all dimensions of the smart city wheel. The Swiss Smart City Survey is a key indicator of the current state of the art for smart development, it reveals significant progress in smart city development across Switzerland, particularly in governance, data management, and formal integration within municipal administrations. Larger cities excel due to economies of scale and greater investments, with growing interest in the dimensions of Smart Economy, Smart People and Smart Living. However, challenges remain in achieving uniform policies, highlighting the need for tailored support for smaller municipalities that lag behind in terms of smart city development. Finally, the Swiss holistic approach to smart city can be seen in the case studies, where smart projects tend to reflect the defining characters of the living space itself.