Evidence-Based Public Policy Decision-Making in Smart Cities: Does Extant Theory Support Achievement of City Sustainability Objectives?

Abstract

Evidence-based decision making is promoted as offering efficiency and effectiveness; however, its uptake has faced barriers such as underdeveloped supporting culture, limited access to evidence, and evidence that is not fully relevant. Smart city conceptualizations offer economic and environmental sustainability and better quality of life through evidence-based policy decision-making. We wondered whether smart city theory and practice has advanced the knowledge of evidence-based decision-making. We searched major databases for literature containing a mention of smart cities, decision-making, and policy. We identified relevant literature from a range of disciplines and supplemented these by following backwards and forwards citations. Evidence-based decision-making was found mostly in literature regarding the theory and practice of smart city operations, and, to lesser extents, the articles regarding policy decisions and tactical decisions. Better decision-making which supported the achievement of city sustainability objectives was reported in some articles; however, we found significant obstacles to the further achievement of city objectives in the areas of underachievement in collaborative decision-making, privileging of big data evidence, and artificial intelligence agents as decision-makers. We assembled a definition of smart city decision-making and developed an agenda of research which will support city governments, theorists, and practitioners in better achieving sustainability through improved decision-making.

“Smart cities” and their vulnerability

“…Questions can be asked, for example, whether general assumptions about the solution uh it's a longof "smart cities" are based on evidencebased conclusions, or whether they are more or less unfounded guesses. A potential security incident could put such overly optimistic expectations into another perspective [2]. It is necessary to directly assume that any processes and models, including the modernization of cities, will bring with them positive and negative impacts, including the building of new barriers (digital divide, etc.)…”

Residents’ Quality of Life in Smart Cities: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Only a few authors undertook research on a global scale and compared cities worldwide [22,23]. Others provided more general literature reviews or analyses that did not specify location [8,24]. The majority of the research was undertaken in European cities (32) as shown in Table 1.…”

“…Effective SC management should enhance technology infrastructure, engage stakeholders, adhere to strategic, tactical, and operational levels via efficient criticism and feedback, and implement a bottom-up strategy [6,24]. An open citizen service operating system that utilizes automatic classification boosts citizens' participation.…”

“…A successful SC requires the government or public administration to contribute to the improvement of economic competitiveness, mobility, sustainability, and overall QoL [31]. On the other hand, it has been recommended that governance needs to be more long-term and strategic with real evidence that citizens are involved in decision making and problem solving and are not just passive recipients of information [24]. It has been suggested that in order to improve online responsive governance, the urban government should be data-driven with the assistance of machine learning or Artificial Intelligence [41].…”

A Survey on 5G and LPWAN-IoT for Improved Smart Cities and Remote Area Applications: From the Aspect of Architecture and Security

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