Cities’ difficulties: the current picture Among the main difficulties that arise when it comes to the deployment of smart technologies in cities with complex implementation of smart and sustainable city policies, these social problems can exacerbate social inequalities obstacles that many cities have experienced stand out: among inhabitants in terms of ownership and access to technological tools—that is, a digital divide may develop. •Cities may face the risk of focusing excessively on investing Technology cannot be the only answer, and digital divides in advanced technologies (for example, ICT and AI) and, will always undermine inclusiveness. This is why the smart, consequently, of not properly perceiving the conflicts and sustainable, and social dimensions of a city must be linked problems that exist within their boundaries. In fact, the together. BOX 1.2 - Medellín in Colombia In 2004, the city of Medellín in Colombia opened its first cable- propelled transit (CPT) line as part of its integrated urban development program. The CPT was first built to serve the poor neighborhoods located in the higher parts of the city. It provides residents with a new commuting infrastructure and increased opportunities for employment, education, and social activities. The CPT, together with new services and infrastructure upgrades for neighborhoods served by it, allowed the city government to take the first steps to reduce the marginalization of Medellín’s poorer neighborhoods. Indeed, Medellín’s strategy for becoming smart and sustainable was mostly based on an integrated and inclusive transport system that aims to reduce Source: © Kyle LaFerriere Photography LLC the exclusion of poorer citizens.26 •Many municipalities around the world are facing growing • Cities’ policies sometimes contain contradictions. For demands to improve citizen participation in government. example, most investments in the development of a Looking beyond surveys and sensitivity studies, populations technology-based “smart city” mainly focus on creating new now expect real participatory mechanisms that involve facilities instead of on modernizing old ones, even though them in the development of an urban project. A lack of existing buildings account for a high percentage of CO2 solutions implemented to involve local communities emissions (between 15 percent and 20 percent of a city’s in city management often results in movements that CO emissions on average27). Moreover, the development2 reject or boycott change or express dissatisfaction with of smart city infrastructure will require huge investment, to it. Participatory devices are therefore rooted in the issue which citizens indirectly contribute in the form, for example, of access for all inhabitants to a renewed form of daily of paying taxes at a higher rate. Many citizens may wonder democracy, one not limited to the period prior to local about the proper use of the taxes they pay: investing in elections. Citizen participation is seen by citizens as an energy savings or developing networks of sensors, servers, indicator of the priority accorded to daily democracy by and digital platforms are mostly seen as a relevant use. their elected officials, and it is also a factor that influences • Managing cities is a huge challenge. Above all, it requires citizens’ acceptance of the local government’s activities. intelligence, responsibility, and reasonableness. These •Some cities may lack a comprehensive view of all the qualities cannot be replaced by using modern technologies activities and operations that take place within them. or dispensed with by building cities from scratch28 (for Mobility, energy, living, and resources are intricately linked. example, Songdo in South Korea; Masdar City, a planned (26) https://www.acrosstheblocks.com/the-study (accessed on 29 March 2021). (27) “In 2010 buildings accounted for 32 % of total global final energy use, 19 % of energy-related GHG emissions (including electricity-related), approximately one- third of black carbon emissions, and an eighth to a third of F-gases.” https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter9.pdf (accessed on 29 March 2021). 36 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021