One key challenge that good city government has to rise to is to using transit at off-peak hours, changing commuting routes, change the nature of infrastructure so that the city has the ability and using much less energy and water). Such sustainable to do more with less. Infrastructure needs to offer modularity, solutions rely on changes in end-user and citizen behaviors. and it must be scalable as the city grows. There also has to be Complementarily, solutions can already be identified—for scope to easily replace, adapt, or upgrade infrastructure when example, using preventive self-care, accelerating the use underlying needs evolve or regulations change. of rooftop solar panels, and selling power back to the grid. Implementation of these things depends on both availability Urban planning ought to be combined with asset development and incentives. Moreover, sharing personal vehicles for use in to get the most out of the systems that are already operating commuting, teleworking on a part-time basis, and/or relying on via the existing infrastructure. Investment in infrastructure temporary rental solutions instead of on ownership can all help once locked many cities into capital-intensive and extremely in developing sustainable solutions over time. long-term plans. For city executives, infrastructure entails uncertainty, and dealing with uncertainty requires them to A good city government will put residents at the center of anticipate how demand for a given service will evolve. One everything in order to design new policies and measures. solution is to combine traditionally designed buildings with The entire challenge is the ability to cope more effectively sustainable solutions in the right way. Cities might also and dynamically with the needs, expectations, and desires of become more dynamic in their attempts to understand shifts residents. in demand for particular services and infrastructure, which can be detected by looking at changes in, for example, commuting Overall, mayors and city administrators can lead sustainable times, energy consumption, and the types of transportation urban transformation. One priority is to cut emissions, that residents use. They must openly embrace innovation and reduce pollution levels, and deliver added benefits in terms encourage private sector involvement. Today, city governments of job creation, health, and resilience. To do so, collaborative cannot attempt to be the sole financial backers of infrastructure processes bringing in different stakeholders and urban planning projects, because the debt burden that doing so would place on will be crucial tools in the long term. Moreover, switching to them is too high. And they cannot be the operator of every type innovative systems will mean moving away from traditional city of service and infrastructure system, because new business planning, which is mostly premised on individual ownership models have made that approach inviable. of assets. New activities will cross the borders of specialized sectors (for example, the energy, housing, and automotive Most cities have to decide whether they mainly run operations industries). All actors from the traditional sectors are invited on their own or sign partnerships with private companies: to share professional expertise with startups, new-entrant traditional public procurement or public-private collaboration companies, and even residents. and partnerships. The former relies on tax or public debt, the latter on financing from private companies. This phenomenon Mayors and city governments can engage multisectoral is an important change in procurement policy, contract terms, business, civil society, and stakeholders, including players relationships with private operators, and vendor management from finance and investment, real estate, construction, utilities, in order to fit better with evolving solutions (for example, soft urban planning, design, and engineering, to identify and execute mobility, car sharing, mobility as a service (Maas), multimodal combined solutions that address multiple issues. solutions), and inhabitants’ needs. B- Smart cities offer companies major market In terms of financial capacity, personnel competences, and opportunities and an environment that encourages expertise, most cities have limited resources at their disposal. disruptive innovations City governments can make use of innovative financial mechanisms (for example, social bonds) so that they do not New business opportunities have to be the only financial contributor to and/or operator of The key uncertainty regarding the fomenting of new every type of service, utility, and infrastructure system. A larger opportunities concerns their starting point. On one hand, smart share of sustainable investments should come from private cities can create new business opportunities because they invite actors or public-private collaboration. incremental, radical, and disruptive innovations. Innovations will also help to reshape value chains; combine activities, Beyond accurately anticipating demand, some innovative skills, and businesses; and potentially force companies to adapt solutions can involve and be shaped by residents (for example, their offers to new social needs. On the other hand, if cities 231 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021