A “smart city” is a city that has undergone a process or a set of stages to make it more livable, resilient, and able to react more quickly to new issues. With these concepts in mind, it is obvious that a “smart city” supports metropolitan areas that offer necessary infrastructure, equitable living conditions for its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment, and the use of “smart” solutions. Compact areas are being researched with an eye towards equitable and sustainable development in order to create a model that would serve as a benchmark for other aspirational cities.
1.1 Features of Smart City
A smart city is one that has the following attributes, according to the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India:
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Smart homes
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Sufficient water supply
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Security of energy supply
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Solid waste management
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Smart urban transportation
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Efficient internet connection and digitalization
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Health and education
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Safety and security of citizens
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E-government and citizen participation
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A sustainable environment
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Inclusive development
As a result, several traits of fully developed Smart Cities are detailed here. These traits were taken from the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India
1.1.1 Area-Based Developments Encouraging Mixed Land Use
Planning for “unplanned regions” that include a variety of suitable activities and land uses close to one another is advised in order to increase the effectiveness of land use. The States will offer some freedom in land use and building byelaws in order to adapt to change.
1.1.2 Housing and Diversity
It encourages expanding everyone's access to housing.
1.1.3 Developing Walkable Communities
This is carried out to boost local economies, promote social interaction, maintain safety, and reduce traffic jams, air pollution, and resource depletion. All crucial administrative tasks are located nearby, and roads are constructed or refurbished not only for automobiles and public transportation but also for pedestrians and cyclists.
1.1.4 Protecting and Improving Open Areas
Here, the focus is on constructing parks, playgrounds, and recreational places in order to increase citizen quality of life, minimize the effects of urban heat in some locales, and overall support eco-balance.
1.1.5 Encouraging a Diversity of Travel Choices
It denotes last mile para-transport connectivity, public transportation, and transit oriented development (TOD).
1.1.6 Making Government More Cost- and Citizen-Friendly
The use of mobile devices to reduce service costs and provide services without the need to visit municipal offices, the creation of e-groups to hear from the public and gather feedback, and the use of online monitoring of programs and activities through the use of virtual site visits are all encouraged by this feature.
1.1.7 Providing an Identity to the City
This is based on the main economic activities, such as the production of local food, health care, education, crafts, sporting goods, furniture, hosiery, textiles, dairy products, and other commodities (Khang & Muthmainnah et al., 2023).
1.1.8 Applying Intelligent Solutions to Services and Infrastructure
They suggest that to improve them, area-based development is required. A few examples include designing areas that are less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer resources, and providing services at a lower cost. The following section covers a number of approaches and components that have been created based on the concept of smart cities.