Dream or Not?

With the advancements of the globalizing world, the newly popular concept has

arisen, smart city, which can be described as a type of city that guarantees to solve the urban

problems in the city with the aim of creating more productive and valuable places to live

(Costa & Oliveira, 2021). Even though there are some obstacles that may be encountered

regarding the overall well-being of the society, establishing an ideally perfect smart city

seems to be possible when all the necessities are met thoroughly.

According to Costa and Oliveira (2021), a smart city has seven significant

characteristics: smart economy, smart people, smart mobility, smart living, smart

environment, smart governance, and smart social inclusion. To begin with, the smart

economy can be described as the economy in which workers can get the money that they

deserve, and the jobs are not harmful to the environment. Creative industries such as arts,

software and medical services can be beneficial to create a smart economy because the works

in creative industries do not repeat themselves, and are always open to innovation. Secondly,

smart people are needed for a creative society, and first education comes to mind when the

term ‘smart people’ is thought. They claim that smart people with higher years of education

can help to create a smart city because these educated people are open-minded, and when

they communicate with each other, they can boost the city’s economy by production. Also,

educated people are social beings; therefore, when there is an environmental issue, they can

raise awareness quite easily. Furthermore, the flexibility of human movements is quite

important in terms of smart mobility. To clarify, when the citizens can travel within the city

comfortably, for example, if they can go to their work without spending so much time or

polluting the city, that means the city is smart enough for mobility. The fourth characteristic

of a smart city is smart living. When the citizens think that their city is a good place to live

and it serves according to both citizens’ and outsiders’ wishes and needs, people can reach
social well-being, and live happily. Moreover, using the natural resources of a city efficiently

and protecting the environment is important for a city to be smart because a smart

environment can be achieved only thanks to this. Another characteristic is smart governance;

if the management of a city cares about its citizens, and takes action for them, not for itself,

smart governance can be provided. Last but not least, smart social inclusion should exist in a

city to be smart. Differences between people should not be the reason for their living

conditions, and all people should access equal opportunities to be smart.

When we think about the characteristics of an ideally perfect smart city, we can say

that it is not that hard to create such a city. Even if ensuring all the citizens’ well-being in

terms of many ways such as economy, environment, government, and social life seems

difficult to achieve, it is not impossible. In his article, Ellahi (2021) states that humankind has

an instinct to protect itself and live in order. Therefore, when a smart city is established with

all characteristics, it is sure that all people can live in a harmony with peace because they will

not need anything other than provided living conditions. Besides people can benefit from

their own wishes and needs, they can live in an environment where everybody’s needs and

wishes are met. “Each individual is not subject to any other individual but to the general will

and to obey this is to obey himself” (Ellahi, 2021, p. 68). In other words, in a smart city,

problems should not occur because there is a general will, and if citizens do not want any

troubles for themselves, they should not deviate from this general will. Consequently, once a

smart city is established according to its characteristics with all means, maintaining this is the

easiest thing to do.

In conclusion, the term ‘smart city’ promises to ensure the happiness of citizens in

terms of all ways with the help of developments in various sectors and industries. The ideally

perfect smart city can seem too good to exist; however, once it is created, it is sure that it will
last for a long time or even forever because there will be no reason for people to create any

problems while living in a peaceful, productive and efficient city.

References

Costa, E. M., & Oliveira, Á, D, (2021). Humane Smart Cities. ENG 101 Course Booklet

Reading, Listening & Speaking. 75-83.

Elahi, M., (2021). What Is Social Contract Theory?. ENG 101 Course Booklet Reading,

Listening & Speaking. 66-69.