Identifying the results of smart city development: Findings from systematic literature review

Smart city is an innovative urban development that aims at sustainable development and a high quality of life (Dirks & Keeling, 2009; Toppeta, 2010; Washburn et al., 2009). There are abundant studies on political and technological strategies to make smart cities, however, the changes induced by those strategies have not been comprehensively understood. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to identify the results of smart city development using the systematic literature review method. We reviewed 55 papers and found 12 positive and 4 negative results are frequently mentioned. Among 12 positive results, six were purely hypothetical without any evidence: (1) enhancing citizen involvement, (2) protecting environment, (3) facilitating social development, (4) facilitating sustainable development, (5) fostering innovation, and (6) increasing social capital. There is relatively less attention to negative results. Two out of four negative results are purely hypothetical: (1) privacy and security issues and (2) diminishing freedom of speech and democracy. Further studies are needed in discovering the evidence for purely hypothetical impacts and comparing smart city development in advanced and emerging economies.