Evaluation of Brazilian cities from the perspective of smart cities: An analysis of cluster and information technology initiatives

The theme of smart cities has gained increasing relevance due to the phenomenon of rapid urbanization and the adoption of Information Technologies (IT) to optimize the urban system. However, there is no clear and universal consensus on the definition of smart cities. In this context, the research aims to analyze and classify smart cities in Brazil and identify the IT initiatives employed for this purpose. To this end, data from the Connected Smart Cities Ranking (RCSC) for the year 2020 are used and the K-means algorithm is used to classify cities into clusters. From eleven indicator themes, the evidence suggests the three groupings, exposing different behaviors regarding infrastructure, maturity and number of projects related to the use of IT tools for smart cities. In this way, the work allows the identification of the main initiatives employed by the administration in order to improve social well-being and, thus, serves as a reference for decisions related to urban management.