The role of landscape design in Smart Cities

Abstract

Smart cities are not a new phenomenon and it is an interdisciplinary definition that became a popular labeling for modern cities. However, there a is surprisingly little academic research in urban design and planning field that discusses this phenomenon. Smart cities definition is similar to intelligent, creative, sustainable or liveable cities which appears to be considered as a part of a play with words. In most of the technological and social science articles smart cities refer to a smart urban management and development via technologies and infrastructure. Based on the scientific literature overview, there are several factors affecting the city smartness, such as technology, people and communities, economy governance, planning and infrastructure. Overall there is a little information and research on urban design principles and tools in the smart city’s creation and contribution to its smartness. The most important thing is to clarify the urban design, planning and landscape design role importance to a smart city context and vice versa. The aim of this paper is to overview the smart cities concept from urban design perspective to find and highlight the important touch points, relation and role of urban design, planning and landscape design in smart cities creation. This would lead to the robust principles for smart European cities that would enable to achieve sustainable development, efficient urban growth and a better urban landscape.

Smart City Thailand: Visioning and Design to Enhance Sustainability, Resiliency, and Community Wellbeing

“…Kim and Steenkamp [67] used a fourphase design process approach that considered: Phase I (Awareness), Phase II (Suggestion), Phase III (Development) and Phase IV (Evaluation). Mozuriunaite [68] suggested "...there is little information and research on urban design principles and tools in the smart city's creation and contribution to its smartness..." but ultimately linked Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, general urban and landscape design principles, and Smart City design considerations to identify six key design areas: Vertical Green, Water Energy (e.g., water recycling, treatment, and solar energy), Water Savings, Energy Savings, Natural Ventilation, and Technology. Allam and Newman [22] proposed a Smart City framework with three important drivers: culture, metabolism (i.e., the concept that urban livability must be integrated with resource flows (metabolism), to simultaneously reduce a city's metabolism and increase its livability), and governance.…”

“…We used DEPA's seven smart pillars to guide our planning and design efforts, although components of the Smart City design frameworks outlined by Allam and Newman [22] and Mozuriunaite [68] are also clearly reflected in the designs presented herein. The study team employed an innovative approach to address the objective of visioning possible futures for the TUNN superblock by including the project as a main theme for authentic learning experiences across five TDS classes.…”

Energy Re-Shift for an Urbanizing World

“…The energy systems that provide these cities with heating, cooling, and electricity must be clean, renewable, and abundant, as well as efficient, effective, and secure [34]. However, smart cities are rarely discussed in academic research in the fields of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning [35]. The main function of urban and landscape design in the building of the smart city is based on the integration of technology components with the physical city, including residence and public spaces, politics, economy, and ecology, among other things [35].…”

“…However, smart cities are rarely discussed in academic research in the fields of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning [35]. The main function of urban and landscape design in the building of the smart city is based on the integration of technology components with the physical city, including residence and public spaces, politics, economy, and ecology, among other things [35]. The spatial patterns of urban energy systems evident in the built environment are represented by urban energy landscapes [31].…”

“…Hodge and Haltrecht [51] point out some of the key operational goals of the design: The European Green Deal (i.e., the European Union's most significant step toward climate neutrality, issued at the end of 2019) as well the recent European COVID-19 Recovery Fund, represent an opportunity to accelerate the development of renewable energies and green infrastructure-based projects in European cities [52]. Moreover, smart information and communication technology, in combination with urban green infrastructure planning concepts, could be a powerful instrument for coordinating and managing energy issues and the bettering of sustainable smart cities [35]. To navigate this, there will be the need for a technical transition within the urban energy grid that focalizes on nonrenewable to renewable forms, something that is fast occurring in much of the MDRs of the world.…”