Edward Elgar Publishing Smart Living in Smart Cities: Stakeholder Perspectives

This innovative book addresses a critical gap in smart city research by focusing on smart living, an often overlooked aspect in comparison to technological and infrastructure development. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska adopts a holistic approach, combining research perspectives, literature reviews, international ranking analysis and resident surveys. Chapters bridge expert assessments with actual resident experiences, identifying research gaps and providing practical insights. This book compares both developed and emerging economies globally, examining five smart living sub-areas: housing, health, education, culture and entertainment, and tourism and recreation. It also incorporates bottom-up perspectives through surveys of various cities, exemplifying their shift from expert-driven to citizen-centered evaluation. Ultimately, the author aims to refocus smart city discourse to its fundamental goal which is to genuinely improve residents' quality of life. Smart Living in Smart Cities is a valuable resource for scholars and students of urban geography, urban and regional studies and city planning. Its evaluation of the understudied field of smart living also makes this a vital read for practitioners creating smart cities, as it highlights new opportunities for implementing change in a way that benefits citizens’ daily lives.