The Need of Multidisciplinary Approaches and Engineering Tools for the Development and Implementation of the Smart City Paradigm

Abstract

This paper is motivated by the concept that the successful, effective, and sustainable implementation of the Smart City paradigm requires a close cooperation among researchers with different, complementary interests and, in most cases, a multidisciplinary approach. It first briefly discusses how such a multidisciplinary methodology, transversal to various disciplines such as Architecture, Computer Science, Civil engineering, Electrical, Electronic and Telecommunication engineering, Social science and Behavioral science, etc., can be successfully employed for the development of suitable modeling tools and real solutions of such socio-technical systems. Then, the paper presents some pilot projects accomplished by the authors within the framework of some major EU and national research programs, also involving the Bologna municipality and some of the key players of the Smart City industry. Each project, characterized by different and complementary approaches/modeling tools, is illustrated along with the relevant contextualization and the advancements with respect of the state of the art.

Perceptions of Priority Policy Areas and Interventions for Urban Sustainability in Polish Municipalities: Can Polish Cities Become Smart, Inclusive and Green?

“…Regardless of the legal conditions, implementing some of the above types of policies, practices and interventions (e.g., smart and green solutions) in Polish cities would require leaders with a pro-innovation attitude that are open to modern solutions, and have considerable financial resources [84]. In Poland, only large urban areas that are centres of economic growth, knowledge and innovation generation, and financial capital have these characteristics [51].…”

Smart City Pilot Projects Using LoRa and IEEE802.15.4 Technologies

“…In recent years, the smart city paradigm has emerged as a revolutionary approach to tackle the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of urban environments [ 2 ]. By leveraging on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), smart cities promise to bring wide-ranging improvements to urban living, making the use of physical infrastructures (residential and public buildings, roads, utilities) more efficient, properly adapting to evolving circumstances, collecting valuable information for decision making processes and engaging effectively citizens in local governance.…”

Design, Deployment and Evolution of Heterogeneous Smart Public Lighting Systems

“…As pointed out in Section 1, in order to meet the impressive data rate requirements of this technology, 5G cells will be limited in coverage, which means that many more base stations will be required to ensure a seamless service experience. Network engineers are looking at lighting infrastructures as the solution for the ultra-dense placement of 5G base stations across smart cities [3,99]. For cellular network providers, the advantages of equipping streetlights with 5G base stations include:…”

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