International Telecommunication Union

ITU-T

FG-SSC

TELECOMMUNICATIONSTANDARDIZATION SECTOROF ITU

(10/2014)

ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities

Smart sustainable cities: An analysis of definitions

Focus Group Technical Report

FOREWORD

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency in the field of telecommunications, information and communication technologies (ICTs). The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is a permanent organ of ITU. ITU-T is responsible for studying technical, operating, and tariff questions and issuing Recommendations on them with a view to standardizing telecommunications on a worldwide basis.

The procedures for establishment of focus groups are defined in Recommendation ITU-T A.7. ITU-T Study Group 5 set up the ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities (FG-SSS) at its meeting in February 2013. ITU-T Study Group 5 is the parent group of FG-SSC.

Deliverables of focus groups can take the form of technical reports, specifications, etc., and aim to provide material for consideration by the parent group in its standardization activities. Deliverables of focus groups are not ITU-T Recommendations.

SERIES OF FG-SSC TECHNICAL REPORTS/SPECIFICATIONS

Technical Report on "Smart sustainable cities: a guide for city leaders"

Technical Report on "Master plan for smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "An overview of smart sustainable cities and the role of information and communication technologies"

Technical Report on "Smart sustainable cities: an analysis of definitions"

Technical Report on "Smart water management in cities"

Technical Report on "Electromagnetic field (EMF) considerations in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Specifications on "Overview of key performance indicators in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Information and communication technologies for climate change adaptation in cities"

Technical Report on "Cybersecurity, data protection and cyber resilience in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Integrated management for smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Key performance indicators definitions for smart sustainable cities"

Technical Specifications on "Key performance indicators related to the use of information and communication technology in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Specifications on "Key performance indicators related to the sustainability impacts of information and communication technology in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Standardization roadmap for smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Setting the stage for stakeholders engagement in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Overview of smart sustainable cities infrastructure"

Technical Specifications on "Setting the framework for an ICT architecture of a smart sustainable city"

Technical Specifications on "Multi-service infrastructure for smart sustainable cities in new-development areas"

Technical Report on "Intelligent sustainable buildings for smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Anonymization infrastructure and open data in smart sustainable cities"

Technical Report on "Standardization activities for smart sustainable cities"

ITU2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of ITU.

Smart sustainable cities: An analysis of definitions

About this Technical Report

This Technical Report has been prepared as a contribution to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities Working Group 1.

Acknowledgements

This Technical Report was researched and principally authored by Professor Sekhar N. Kondepudi from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Vinod Ramanarayanan, Alok Jain, Guru Nandan Singh, Nitin Agarwal NK, Rahul Kumar and Rahul Singh (NUS), Pernilla Bergmark (Ericsson), Takafumi Hashitani (Fujitsu), Paolo Gemma (Huawei), Ziqin Sang (Fiberhome), Daniela Torres (Telefnica), Angelica Ospina (University of Manchester) and Mythili Menon (University of Geneva) provided inputs to this Technical Report.

The author also acknowledges the guidance and support from all the members of the ITU-T FG-SSC Management Team.

Additional information and materials relating to this Technical Report can be found at: www.itu.int/itu-t/climatechange. If you would like to provide any additional information, please contact Cristina Bueti (ITU) at tsbsg5@itu.int.

Smart sustainable cities: An analysis of definitions

Table of Contents

1Introduction21.1Scope22Goals and motivation for a comprehensive definition32.1Goals32.2Lack of standardized terminologies32.3Need for a comprehensive definition43Observations from literature43.1Attributes43.2Core themes43.3Infrastructure Physical, service and digital54Definitions and analysis54.1Sources of information54.2Methodology54.3Approach65Results75.1Keyword analysis from definitions75.2Keyword grouping95.3Important terms to be included in a standardized definition116Recommended definition126.1Criteria for definition126.2Specification126.3Agreed definition by FG-SSC137Conclusions13Annex 1 - Definitions of a smart sustainable city14Annex 2 - References for definitions54Annex 3 Glossary of Terms63

Smart sustainable cities: An analysis of definitions

Executive Summary

This Technical Report was written with the aim of establishing a concrete definition for smart sustainable cities which can be used worldwide. Although there is abundant literature available on smart cities, there is no standardized, commonly accepted set of terminologies which would help to aptly describe a "Smart Sustainable City" (SSC). Such a standardized definition will help create a more defined structure in relation to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics and policies for smart sustainable cities as viewed by ITU.

The following common criteria was used as a guideline, based on key attributes: (1) sustainability, (2) quality of life, (3) urban aspects, and (4) intelligence or smartness. Core themes for SSC include: (1) society, (2) economy, (3) environment, and (4) governance.

Approximately 116 existing definitions of smart sustainable cities were studied and analysed by using as a guideline the attributes and themes of SSCs developed in a parallel ITU-T Technical Report on the Overview of Smart Sustainable Cities. These definitions were obtained from a variety of sources including: academia and research communities, government initiatives, international organizations (United Nations, ITU, etc.), corporate/company profiles, user centric definitions, trade associations and standards development organizations (SDOs).

Key categories and indicators were established and a list of 30 key terms which should be included in a standardized definition were also identified. The following eight (8) categories were identified to be key for SSC: (1) quality of life and lifestyle, (2) infrastructure and services, (3) ICT, communications, intelligence and information, (4) people, citizen and society, (5) environment and sustainability, (6) governance, management and administration, (7) economy and Finance, and (8) mobility. Six (6) primary indicators were identified to be smart living, smart people, smart environment and sustainability, smart governance, smart mobility and smart economy. The following 30 key words were identified to be representative of an SSC.

ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities: Smart sustainable cities: an analysis of definitions

ICT

Adaptable

Reliable

Scalable

Accessible

Security

Safe

Resilient

Economic

Growth

Standard of living

Employment

Citizens

Well-being

Medical Welfare

Physical safety

Education

Environmental

Physical and service infrastructure

Transportation and mobility

Water

Utilities and energy

Telecommunications

Manufacturing

Natural and man-made disasters

Regulatory and compliance

Governance

Policies and processes

Standardization

Finally, based on the above analysis, a proposed definition for a smart sustainable city was approved by the ITU-T FG-SSC as follows:

"A smart sustainable city is an innovative city that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects".

1Introduction

In 2007, the number of people living in cities surpassed the number of those living in rural areas. It is estimated that the proportion of people living in an urban environment will exceed 70% by 2050. From 19502010, small cities have witnessed a net increase of 1.3 billion people, double the number of people inhabiting medium cities (632 million) or large cities (570 million).

People move to urban areas with the hope of finding better job opportunities as well as a better standard of living. However, the increasing number of people migrating to urban areas leads to complex issues such as congestion, increased demand for a limited pool of natural as well as other resources including energy, water, sanitation, education a