Assessment of Smart Cities: The Case of Dubai

The concept of smart city dates back to 1980’s and can be followed from the work of Hall (1988), Rayman (1988) and Lipman et.al (1986). Smart city can be explained as the city that combines technology offered by web and ICT to promote the socialization of individuals and aims to make their lives more efficient. There is no exact definition for smart city because it is constantly evolving in time. Many authors and scholars discuss the concept of smart city and its dimensions which are mentioned in depth in following chapters. Yet, each author possesses a different perspective about dimensions of smart city. In the world we live in now, there are many smart cities such as New York, Barcelona, and Amsterdam of which the main target is to create cities that are more sufficient to serve citizens. Each city’s approach to smartness is different yet they gather around a common goal: creating a more efficient and reliable environment for better living. Based on the literature review in chapter 2, the case of Dubai is evaluated as an example of smart city. Dubai is a highly populated city which is famous worldwide due to its technological advancements. Dubai applies smart city approaches and methodologies which are the main focus of this thesis. These approaches are critically reviewed in order to state whether the application of smart city concept in Dubai has been successful or not. Based on the results of the evaluation, the city of Dubai can be considered as a successful smart city example. Keywords: Smart city concept, Smart Dubai, Sustainability, Urban development