Sustainable Smart Cities

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art smart city which is a digitally connected urban environment that uses data, technology, and analytics to improve the quality of life for its inhabitants. It utilizes sensors and other digital technologies to enable citizens to access services quickly and efficiently. Smart cities also prioritize sustainable development and innovation. The objectives of a smart city are to use technology and data to improve the efficiency of services such as energy, transportation, and waste management, as well as to improve the quality of life for citizens. Smart cities also aim to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability. It is built on the idea of utilizing technology to enhance the lives of citizens and create a more efficient and sustainable urban environment. They are enabled by the use of a variety of data-driven technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and big data. This data is used to develop more efficient ways of managing the city’s resources and improve services for citizens. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the importance and need of sustainability and highlights the use of data-driven technologies in creating efficient and innovative urban environments with examples from around the world. Furthermore, a detailed aspect of smart cities, including their requirements, potential components, and open research challenges, along with opportunities for further exploration.

This chapter discusses the growth of data traffic and the interconnection of digital devices have made the internet a potential necessity for society, enabling reliable communication. To develop a system that securely connects the internet to real-world space would aid in the advancement of a human-centered society that balances economic progress with the resolution of social issues. This chapter provides a detailed overview of Society 5.0 with its requirements, architecture, and components. Society 5.0, its relation to Industry 4.0/5.0, and the role of Society 5.0 in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations have been extensively explored in detail. Several emerging communication and computing technologies such as 5G/6G-Internet of Things, edge computing/cloud computing/fog computing, Internet of Everything, blockchain, and beyond networks have also been explored to fulfill the demands of Society 5.0. The potential application of super-smart cities (Society 5.0) with some practical experience of inhabitants is thoroughly discussed. Finally, we highlighted several open research challenges with opportunities.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 for making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, smart cities are expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of urban management, including public services, public security, and environmental protection. In the development of smart cities, enabling technologies have been identified as a key enabler. Globally, cities need intelligent systems to cope with limited space and resources. As a consequence, smart cities emerged mainly due to highly innovative ICT industries and markets. Additionally, they have begun to adopt novel solutions that leverage the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing technologies to establish a profound connection between each component and layer of a city. In this chapter, we have discussed several key technologies including IoT, Internet of Everything (IoE), wireless sensor network, computing technologies, 5G, 6G, cloud computing, edge computing, fog computing, quantum communication, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, big data/data analytics, blockchain, and cyber-physical systems (CPS) that contribute to the creation of a smart city. It also offers advanced solutions for today’s cities.

In this chapter, we explore the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), in making various aspects of smart cities more accessible and applicable. The IoT serves as the underlying foundation of smart cities and delve into its concept, applications, benefits, and advancements within the context of sustainable smart cities. In addition, we discussed different IoT technologies, highlighting their potential integration and application in smart cities. Finally, we explore the future development of technology in smart cities, addressing open issues, and research challenges that need to be addressed.

Currently, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a highly effective and realistic wireless communication system concept. In this chapter, we have explored the vision of sixth-generation (6G)- IoT-enabled communication networks for sustainable smart cities, along with their intelligent framework. The proposed framework comprises real-time sensing, computing, and communication systems. Furthermore, we have emphasized the architecture and requirements of the 6G-IoT network to meet the growing demand for a sustainable smart city. Additionally, we describe emerging technologies for 6G, including artificial intelligence/machine learning, spectrum bands, sensing networks, extreme connectivity, new network architectures, security, and trust. These technologies enable the development of 6G-IoT network architectures that ensure the quality of service (QoS)/quality of experience (QoE) necessary to support a massive number of devices. Moreover, we have highlighted potential challenges and research directions for future 6G-IoT wireless communication research in the context of sustainable smart cities.

In this chapter, an application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sustainable smart city operations is presented. The AI includes expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition, and machine vision. The use of AI technologies boosts the economy, improves the lives of citizens, and assists the government in its duties. It plays a significant role in making cities safer and easier to live in. It gives people more control over their own homes, monitors traffic, and manages waste. A smart city’s sustainable development is investigated in this chapter through the application of AI. These applications could be employed in smart transport, smart healthcare, smart homes/living, smart industries, smart energy, smart agriculture, smart governance, smart education. Further, existing daily lives and social media examples of AI in smart cities are discussed in detail.

In recent years, the emergence of smart cities has brought forth energy conservation systems aimed at effectively managing energy in both urban areas and buildings. The integration of the Internet of Things in smart cities enables the implementation of various smart and extensive applications. As urbanization continues to accelerate, it is crucial for smart cities to develop effective and sustainable solutions. However, it is worth noting that IoT devices, although becoming more energy efficient, also consume a significant amount of energy and present their own energy-related challenges. Energy management as in smart cities is approached from an interpretivist standpoint, considering the contextual factors surrounding energy usage and addressing associated issues. In this chapter, we provide an overview of energy management and the challenges faced by smart cities. We also present a comprehensive classification of energy management for IoE-based smart cities, examining different aspects and strategies. Furthermore, we discuss energy harvesting in sustainable smart cities, exploring how to extend the lifespan of low power devices, while also highlighting the challenges associated with its implementation.

This chapter discusses intelligent transport systems, which play a vital role in the lives of inhabitants living in large urban areas. These systems enable the mobility of vehicles but also of the people residing in cities. The issue of mobility in urban environments is highly relevant to them. In the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), vehicles transform into intelligent moving nodes or objects within the sensor network, combining the mobile internet and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). With a focus on deployment in smart cities, this chapter examines the current and emerging paradigms and communication models of IoV. Many authors have surveyed IoV applications, including driver safety, traffic efficiency, and infotainment. The purpose is to assess the ability of the IoV to meet the data collection, processing, and storage needs of smart cities on a large scale.

A smart healthcare concept has gradually emerged with the development of information technology. The traditional medical system is transformed in a broader sense by incorporating cutting-edge information technologies, such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. This transformation aims to provide more efficient, convenient, and personalized healthcare services. In this chapter, we discussed the concept of intelligent healthcare. We list the key technologies that support smart healthcare and discuss the current status of smart healthcare across various fields. Furthermore, we address the challenges faced by smart healthcare and discuss potential solutions. In conclusion, we examine the future prospects of smart healthcare and evaluate its potential impact.

In this chapter, we introduced an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)/unmanned ariel vehicle (UAV) that serves various purposes such as monitoring and regulating urban development, transportation, monitoring air quality, infrastructure inspection, emergency services, and communication establishment. These UAVs have proven to be valuable assets in the context of smart cities, offering a range of potential applications supported by key technologies. One notable application is the delivery of goods, which not only reduces traffic congestion but also minimizes emissions compared to traditional delivery vehicles. In addition, it provides real-time data to service provider and governing authorities of smart cities for better decision-making and resource allocation. This contributes to create more sustainable, efficient, and equitable smart cities. The main purpose is to introduce UAVs in smart cities for several potential applications along with the key technologies supporting. Throughout this chapter, we discuss how UAVs address challenges and build a smart city sustainable. Finally, we evaluate UAV prospects and look forward to its future research scopes.