Towards creative and smart urban sustainability: Understanding smart cultural data intelligence (the case of Singapore)

Abstract

This article introduces Smart Cultural Data Intelligence, a framework integrating cultural data into smart city ecosystems for sustainable urban development. Addressing the gap in research on creative sector data's role and place in urban data ecology, it applies de Kerckhove's (1998) “Connected Intelligence” theoretical model to propose a three-pillar assessment framework for Smart Cultural Data Intelligence across urban policies, data infrastructure and governance. A Singapore case study, chosen for its dual smart and creative city agendas, employs triangulation methodology: policy analysis, governance mapping, and data infrastructure assessment. Findings reveal a policy disjuncture between Singapore's creative and smart city initiatives, limitations in public participation, and the need for robust, integrative data systems to enable cross-sector data sharing for sustainable urban planning. The Singapore case highlights challenges and opportunities in strategically positioning cultural data within a smart city context to recommend a unified policy framework with inclusive data governance and enhanced infrastructure to facilitate cross-sector collaboration. These recommendations emphasize a holistic approach balancing technology, people, and policies. The proposed intelligence evaluation framework is well placed to identify the best practices and challenges in cultural data integration to foster sustainable urban development across cities. The article contributes to the discourse on creative smart city nexus, advocating for nuanced investigation of collaboration barriers existing in urban data ecosystems on the policy, data infrastructure and governance levels.