We have written this ebook in response to this evolving understanding of what a smart city might be. We hope to answer the following question: What are the essential qualities of today’s smart cities? It is no longer possible to restrict the study of cities to the role of information technologies. The stakes are higher because cities are places that accommodate a large number of people, absorb many resources, consume a lot of energy, and create a great deal of pollution. But they also bring together populations who aspire to a higher quality of life and who see cities as resilient, inclusive places. BOX 1.1- The common good: definition Many disciplines have dwelt on the meaning of the “common value for a large number of people. The common good is a good.” “Social and general welfare” or “public benefit” are good matter of value creation and value sharing (or appropriation). synonyms for the concept. In this sense, the common good has a strong relationship with social justice. In two modern works, the Nobel Prize-winning Misusing or misunderstanding the notion of the “common economist Jean Tirole23 and Robert B. Reich24argue separately good” must be avoided. In contemporary economic theory, that the common good constitutes the very essence of any Elinor Ostrom revised the economic meaning of the term.22 society or nation. That meaning is perfectly suited to the task of Ostrom pioneered the idea of the “common-pool resource,” addressing questions related to climate change, sustainability, which she defines as a resource that benefits a group of people. and urban transformation. Because both questions and However, if each individual pursues his or her own self-interest, solutions affect our everyday lives and the future of our society, such resources will provide diminished benefits to everyone, we have to think carefully about how economics in general because their supply is not unlimited, and overuse of them may and smart city projects in particular can help us to realize the result in scarcity and depletion. A common-pool resource is common good. On the one hand, individual projects rationally any good which is rivalrous and nonexcludable (for example, lead to expectations of returns and private profits. On the other streets, urban green spaces, or water resources). By contrast, hand, the pursuit of the common good has to lead to public in welfare economics, the common good is the outcome of policies that help human beings to flourish, even if private social welfare. The economics of happiness approach and the companies can execute those policies. capability approach have their own ways of dealing with the common good, but in this ebook we follow the common good Successful urban transformation requires an appreciation of approach. how private interests can provide public and collective goods and services. Focusing on the common good helps us to understand much better how private sector initiatives can contribute to creating The smart and sustainable city: six main points Generally speaking, the term “smart city” has evoked the greenhouse gas emissions, improve their approaches to waste idea of a city that embraces technology, but not one that is management, and preserve resources). When it comes to cities, necessarily sustainable. However, to meet the challenges scale is a core notion. In this ebook, we distinguish three levels that humanity faces, cities need to be both “smart” (that is, at which an urban settlement can be analyzed: neighborhood, they need to embrace technological solutions to improve their city, and metropolis. Our ebook will mainly focus on the last two governance) and sustainable (that is, they need to reduce CO and2 categories. (22) Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge university press. (23) Tirole, J. (2017).Economics for the common good. Princeton University Press. (24)Reich, R. B. (2019) The common good. Vintage.. 34 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021