Smart Cities

Transforming cities through digital innovations is becoming an imperative for every city. However, city ecosystems widely struggle to start, manage and execute the transformation. This book aims to give a comprehensive overview of all facets of the Smart City transformation and provides concrete tools, checklists, and guiding frameworks.

‘This book masterfully illustrates the seemingly boundless impact of digitalization on flourishing urban centers. Digitalization changes roles and business models and necessitates an entirely new governance structure. The smart city management model introduce here merges these elements in an impressive manner.’

‘”Smart city” is the new buzzword, yet what does it really signify? With this book, the University of St. Gallen has made a significant contribution toward a profound understanding of smart cities. It offers valuable insights for the initiation and realization of smart city processes.’

‘Digitalization is an opportunity as well as a challenge for cities. There is no ‘silver bullet’ for the development of smart cities. However, functional strategies with the proper methodology do exist, as this insightful book proves. It further becomes apparent that open-mindedness and interdisciplinary collaboration are decisive.’

‘Energy consumption and emissions, the safety of urban populations, and ever-increasing traffic constitute utmost pressing issues for contemporary cities. Smart cities and intelligent buildings promise to solve these challenges. This book portrays precise ways in which cities can become smart cities.’

‘Smart cities require suitable technologies, sustainable business models, and proper administration processes. This book conveys concrete ways of how cities can become smart cities.’

‘This book succinctly expresses why only one smart city can persist in face of location competition.’

‘Digitalization opens up myriad development possibilities in cities. This book expertly delineates various “best practices” as well as core elements of a systematic and strategic approach.’

‘Municipal utilities not only construct and operate essential digital infrastructure, but also new services for a smart city—from waste disposal “on demand” to electromobility. This book can especially assist small public utility companies in their efforts to develop and realize a strategy for their smart city.’

‘The realization of smart city projects presupposes a uniform understanding of their relevant dimensions. This book and its smart city management model offer the ideal foundation for this crucial unification.’

Oliver Gassmann is Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at the University of St. Gallen and Chairman of the Institute of Technology Management. His research focuses on success factors for innovations. Jonas Böhm is a PhD Student and Research Associate at the Institute of Technology Management and assists national and international smart city projects as a coach and researcher. Maximilian Palmié is Assistant Professor of Energy and Innovation Management at the University of St. Gallen, where he heads the Energy Innovation Lab. This lab focuses on the management of business model innovations and new technologies in the energy industry.