Cognitive Computing Track Chairs' Welcome & Organization

On the sustainability of smart and smarter cities in the era of big data: an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary literature review

“…For example, owing to the disciplinary origins of ICT-oriented literature which resorts to what is labelled 'normative bias' of smart city research [135], and thus respective authors' literacy in advanced sophisticated technologies, there is a fertile area of research that may challenge the promises and claims that new discoveries in big data computing as futuristic advances in ICT hold for urban spaces at the expense of the basic consideration of factors that hamper or facilitate the implementation of big data applications. Indeed, attempts at dwelling at this intersection regarding technological advancements exist in the body of research on smart cities (e.g., [57,89,131,136]). Nevertheless, much more needs to be done to fully exploit it and thus promote sustainable interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary smart and smarter city research (e.g., [20,23,135]).…”

“…For a descriptive account of the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to research, the interested reader can be directed to Bibri [20,22]. However, they all require conceptual precision in order for research outcomes to be valid and usable (e.g., [89]). In all, this interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary literature review and synthesis is a topical, analytical, and organisational unit that is justified and determined by the essence and orientation of the research field of sustainable smart and smarter cities in terms of the underlying scholarly approach.…”

“…In all, the field of smart and smarter cities merges broad streams of scholarship, which entail many research strands, and as the body of literature on smart and smarter cities has evolved remarkably over the past 10 years or so, new social issues and concerns have been brought to the analysis, and new uses of technology and their ends have been proposed and criticised, respectively. Speaking of such issues and concerns, to note, the challenge is that, as pointed out by Lytras and Visvizi [89], research originating in the social sciences tends to reduce the centrality of ICT in smart city research, and hence, the depth and breadth of implications that emerge at the intersection of ICT in urban spaces and innate social problems remain underexplored.…”

“…Owing to its origins, smart and smarter city research remains dominated by analytical perspectives and applicable insights from broadly conceived ICT of pervasive computing. Even though smart and smarter city research has, over the past few decades, transformed into a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary field, housing, integrating, and fusing a variety of domains and disciplines, it is still heavily based on computer science and engineering, with an explicit focus on how advanced technologies and their applications and services may be applied in urban environments [22,89].…”

“…However, the development of sustainable smart cities is increasingly gaining traction and pre-eminence worldwide, surpassing all other urban development approaches, especially in the world's major cities, supported by policymakers, governments, research institutions, universities, and industries. Given the apparent relevance and usefulness of the findings produced in the field of smart cities, the related research and development has been embraced and advocated by the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (e.g., [89]). For example, a common understanding shared by the European Commission and reflected in the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership (SCCEIP) is that smart technologies in their various forms hold great potential for achieving sustainability in smart cities, particularly in relation to the intersection between energy, transport, and ICT, where the associated industries have been invited to collaborate with cities to address their challenges and needs [47].…”