Abstract
Introduction
Welcome to a new issue of the Journal of Smart Cities and Society. Here we include three contributions to the field, considering: smart transport, citizens services co-design, and a smart city project.
“Comparative analysis of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Spanish multi-unit residential buildings”, by E. Garcia Blàzquez, R. Villafàfila-Robles, and M. Codina Escolar, focuses on the infrastructure for electric vehicles within the context of multi-unit residential buildings. The authors perform an analysis based on a residential area in Spain. The study presents a technological and financial analysis of different charging installation modalities, focusing on the impact of load management systems. The objective is to compare collective and individual metering strategies. The results of this work are positive about load management systems. Additionally, this work also provides a range of relevant aspects of this technology setup which are of interest to policymakers, urban planners, and building administrators.
“Smart cities and the challenge of lived experience: Interpreting citizen-sensed data for inclusive urban futures” by K. Burger, V. Kumar, J. Thomas, T. Tryfonas, and U. Leonards, analyzes a smart city project associated with an area in Bristol (UK) from the citizen perspective. It considers both the value and challenges of effectively involving citizens in designing and planning. It highlights the role of citizens beyond being mere “data collection points” and proposes methodological guidelines to increase the value of interaction between governance and citizens.
“An overview of Vadodara smart city transformation in line with smart cities mission implementation in India”, by S. Madakam, D. Thomas, S. Samant, considers a real smart city project from the initial conception phase to its development and retrospective assessment. It provides insights into the strategic and financial aspects of the project and explains the different technologies used as well as how these support different services. The article also considers the perception of the system from citizens, in terms of awareness and perceived usefulness. It concludes with an analysis of perceived benefits and outstanding challenges.
We are grateful to our Editorial Board Members (in alphabetical order): Sunil Choenni, Dilek Dustegor and Bilal Farooq, who managed the review process of these articles.
The Editorial Team of this journal expects the contributions included in this issue will provide new tools to address some of the many challenges ahead to realize this societal paradigm shift and inspires and guide other colleagues in this developing community to further innovate in this sector.
We encourage all sectors of society to engage in this technical conversation as our view of this area as a multidisciplinary one which will require the input of various different professions and different levels of involvement within urban environments to produce effective innovation.