Municipal Innovation and Sustainability Readiness—Results from a Study of Mediterranean Cities
Keywords:
Mediterranean, Mainstreaming, Sustainability, Climate Change, Smart Cities, Innovation, SMEs
Abstract
Climate change and urbanization will shape the Mediterranean region in the 21st century. It is becoming critical for regional cities to mainstream climate and sustainability goals into their strategies, to ensure sustainable urban development and climate readiness. The Smart City model is often suggested as a pathway to integrating sustainability and innovation within municipal systems to achieve sustainable development goals. This article presents insights from a survey of 34 Mediterranean cities, on the potential for mainstreaming sustainability in cities, mainly through smart sustainability and collaborations with innovation partners such as local SMEs and startups. The study presents the aptitude and readiness of the cities for sustainability and innovation and notes key barriers such as financial constraints and lack of innovative culture within the local government. The study also reveals differences in aptitude between large and small regional cities.
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Thomson, J., and Jackson, T. (2007) Sustainable procurement in practice: Lessons from local government. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 50, 3: 421-444.
UN Environment Program (UNEP) (2020) Cities and climate change . https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climate-change
Vienna University of Technology (2014) The European Smart Cities Model 3.0, http://www.smart-cities.eu/?cid=2&ver=3
Wamsler, C., Brink, E., & Rivera, C. (2013) Planning for climate change in urban areas: From theory to practice. Journal of Cleaner Production, 50: 68-81.
Westman, L., Moores, E., & Burch, S. L. (2021) Bridging the governance divide: The role of SMEs in urban sustainability interventions. Cities, 108, 102944.
Zygiaris S. (2013) Smart city reference model: Assisting planners to conceptualize the building of smart city innovation ecosystems. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 4: 217–231. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-012-0089-4
Anthopoulos, L. (2015) Defining smart city architecture for sustainability. In Proceedings of 14th Electronic Government and 7th Electronic Participation Conference (IFIP2015), 140-147.
Arcadis Sustainable Cities Mobility Index (2017) https://www.arcadis.com/en/global/our-perspectives/sustainable-cities-mobility-index-2017/
Aylett A. (2014) Progress and Challenges in the Urban Governance of Climate Change: Results of a Global Survey, MIT, Cambridge, MA. https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/38666
-----. (2015) Institutionalizing the urban governance of climate change adaptation: Results of an international survey, Urban Climate, 14, 1: 4-16. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212095515300031
Bloomberg, M. R., & Aggarwala, R. T. (2008) Think locally, act globally. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(5), 414-423.
Bucero, G.. A. (2020) Accelerating Green: How Small and Medium Enterprises can contribute towards Mainstreaming Urban Nature-Based Solutions. MS thesis. Faculty of Sciences, Utrecht University,.
BSI, PAS 180 Smart cities Vocabulary, https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PAS-180-smart-cities-terminology/
Butler, T., & Hackney, R. (2015) Understanding digital eco-innovation in municipalities: an institutional perspective. ECIS Research Papers, No.21,
Caragliu, A., Del Bo, C. and Nijkamp, A. (2009) Smart cities in Europe. University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46433693_Smart_Cities_in_Europe
Desdemoustier, J., Crutzen, N. and Giffinger R. (2019) 'Municipalities' understanding of the Smart City concept: An exploratory analysis in Belgium." Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 142: 129-141.
ENI CBC MED, SME4SMARTCITIES Intelligent Cities Challenge, http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/sme4smartcities
-----. The Programme at a glance, http://www.enicbcmed.eu/about-us/the-programme-at-a-glance
-----. Developing innovative solutions for Mediterranean smart cities: launching of the SME4SMARTCITIES project, http://www.enicbcmed.eu/developing-innovative-solutions-mediterranean-smart-cities-launching-sme4smartcities-project
European Commission (2019) Analysis of SMEs participation in public procurement and measures to support it, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/analysis-smes%E2%80%99-participation-public-procurement-and-measures-support-it_en
Fabres, J. & Kurvits, T. & Nilsen, R. & Pravettoni, R. & Agardy, T. (2012) State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment. 25-35. https://planbleu.org/en/publications/state-of-the-mediterranean-marine-and-coastal-environment/
Giffinger, R., Fertner, C. Kramar H., Kalasek R., Pichker-Milanowitc, A., Neirjers. E. et al. (2007) Smart cities – Ranking of European medium-sized cities report, Vienna University of Technology http://www.smart-cities.eu/download/smart_cities_final_report.pdf
IMD Business School (2020) Smart Cities city ranking, https://www.imd.org/smart-city-observatory/smart-city-index/
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (2015) Technical Specifications on "Setting the framework for an ICT architecture of a smart sustainable city” (SSC-0345), https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ssc/Documents/website/web-fg-ssc-0345-r5-ssc_architecture.docx
IPCC (2015) Special Report: Global Warming Of 1.5 ºC, Chapter 03: Impacts of 1.5ºC global warming on natural and human systems, https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/
Municipality of Malaga (2016) Malaga Smart, https://malagasmart.malaga.eu/en/sustainable-and-safe-habitat/energy/#.YC-lhDLit1A
Leka, A., & Nicolaides, C. (2017) Small and medium-sized cities and insular communities in the Mediterranean: Coping with sustainability challenges in the smart city context. In Stratigea, A. Kyriakides,.E. and Nicolides, C. (Eds.), Smart Cities in the Mediterranean. Springer, Cham, 3-29.
Martin, C. J., Evans, J. and Karvonen, A. (2018) Smart and sustainable? Five tensions in the visions and practices of the smart-sustainable city in Europe and North America. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 133: 269-278.
McCrudden, C. (2004) Using public procurement to achieve social outcomes. Natural Resources Forum. 28. 4 : 257-267.
Monzon, A. (2015) Smart cities concept and challenges: Bases for the assessment of smart city projects. 2015 International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems (SMARTGREENS). IEEE.
Nilsson, M., Griggs, D. and Visbeck M. (2016) Policy: Map the Interactions between Sustainable Development Goals. Nature News, 534.7607: 320.
OECD (2018) Key Data on Local and Regional Governments in the EU..
Reckien, D., Salvia, M., Heidrich, O., Church, J. M., Pietrapertosa, F., De Gregorio-Hurtado, S. & Dawson, R. (2018) How are cities planning to respond to climate change? Assessment of local climate plans from 885 cities in the EU-28. Journal of Cleaner Production, 191: 207-219.
Rosenzweig C., Solecki, W.D., Hammer, S.A. and Mehrota, S. (Eds.) (2011) Climate Change and Cities: First Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), Urban Climate Change Research Network Center for Climate Systems Research Earth Institute, Columbia University, Cambridge University Press, London.
Schaper, Michael, (ed.) (2010) Making Ecopreneurs: Developing Sustainable Entrepreneurship. CRC Press.
Stratigea, A. Kyriakides,.E. and Nicolides, C. (Eds.) (2017) Smart Cities in the Mediterranean. Springer, Cham. Springer
Stratigea, A., and Panagiotopoulou, M. (2015) Smart Cities at the Service of Urban Sustainability-A Flavor of the Mediterranean Experience. Journal of Regional & Socio-Economic Issues 5.3): 7-30.
Sharon, A. (2019) What is really a smart city, Israel Smart Cities Institute, https://israelsmartcities.org/really_smart_city/
Thomson, J., and Jackson, T. (2007) Sustainable procurement in practice: Lessons from local government. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 50, 3: 421-444.
UN Environment Program (UNEP) (2020) Cities and climate change . https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climate-change
Vienna University of Technology (2014) The European Smart Cities Model 3.0, http://www.smart-cities.eu/?cid=2&ver=3
Wamsler, C., Brink, E., & Rivera, C. (2013) Planning for climate change in urban areas: From theory to practice. Journal of Cleaner Production, 50: 68-81.
Westman, L., Moores, E., & Burch, S. L. (2021) Bridging the governance divide: The role of SMEs in urban sustainability interventions. Cities, 108, 102944.
Zygiaris S. (2013) Smart city reference model: Assisting planners to conceptualize the building of smart city innovation ecosystems. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 4: 217–231. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-012-0089-4
Published
2021-03-27
Section
Articles
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