Smart City Innovations to Improve Quality of Life in Urban Settings

While definitions of a Smart City vary, they unequivocally emphasize improvement in the quality of life for citizens through approaches such as improved mobility and transportation systems, a more resilient built environment, or identifying and mitigating various kinds and sources of pollution. Ultimately, the characteristics of a Smart City are defined by its innovations. Motivated by the exponential growth in the number of large cities as well as their populations, municipal and regional governments worldwide have begun to implement smart innovations to manage everyday activities more efficiently. Smart city innovations range in scope, some more technological or data-oriented than others, but for all, the main goal is to effectively meet the evolving needs of its citizens. This paper discusses contemporary issues faced by cities, specifically those related to urban mobility and transportation, urban air pollution, quality of life, and accessibility for short-term visitors. Context-appropriate innovations that have successfully addressed some of these issues in different world regions are described with the overarching objective of inspiring and informing the next generation of smart city innovations.