Abstract
The rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) contribute to the creation of ‘Smart Cities'/‘Knowledge Precincts' that use data, information and technologies to enable innovative business models. This contributes to the nations' development. For smart cities/knowledge precincts to realize the planned social and economic impact; they have to be well-located and planned. Creating connections among cities also contributes to their smartness. This, calls for concepts of inter and intra smartness contributed in this chapter. The question is: a) how to locate the components of the smart city internally and b) how to locate the smart cities relative to each other and to their communities. Location problems are tackled with optimization and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools. This chapter starts by giving definitions on the topic and then presents a survey on the ‘Smart Cities'/‘Knowledge Precincts' location problems that use optimization and GIS tools and concludes with avenues for future research.
TopBackground
In this section, definitions of the terms as will be used in this chapter will be provided. The authors will adopt some definitions of the literature or provide their definitions for the different terms used. The section also presents the topic discussed.
ICT (information and communications technology – or technologies) is considered as an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning (Rouse, 2005). ICT can also be defined as the digital processing and utilization of information by the use of electronic computers; it comprises the storage, retrieval, conversion and transmission of information (Okauru, 2010). ICT refers to two components: information technology (IT) and communication technology (CT). IT refers to computer software and hardware, including tablets and personal digital assistance (PDA) devices. CT refers to internet facilities, including smart phones (Mamun, Danaher & Rahman, 2015). Most of the definitions in the literature share a similar notion which is that information has to be generated and shared. They also assert that, such information must be digital or electronic.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Optimization: A systematic process that is followed with the objective of finding the conditions that will give the maximum or minimum of a function and to obtain the best solution under ?defined constraints and assumptions.
Knowledge Precinct: An urban cluster that leverages and shares resources with the aim of producing then sharing knowledge among individuals (knowledge workers) and firms within the precinct to increase wealth in the community by encouraging innovation, creativity, and Competitiveness of its associated businesses ?and knowledge base institutions?.
Smart City: An urban area or territory where exist skilled population called knowledge workers who use ICT (Information and communications technology) or digital technologies for learning, creativity, and innovation purposes also to enhance the quality of life on the economic, environmental, and governmental sectors.
Intra-City Smartness: A concept that highlights the importance of internal locations and the urban planning of a smart city as well as the virtual connections among the different entities in a city. In order to realize such smartness, techniques and procedures to determine how to choose the location of the components of the smart city should be employed.
Inter-City Smartness: A concept that highlights the importance of locating smart cities ?relative to each other and to their communities. In order to realize such smartness, techniques and procedures are followed to determine how to choose the location of the Smart Cities.
GIS (Geographic Information System): A system designed to capture, store, model, manipulate, retrieve, ?analyze, ?and display all forms of geographically referenced data and information for making informed decisions by stakeholders, ?policymakers and ?decisions-makers. It uses a mix of spatial and attributes data, queries, analytical ?procedures ?and analysis methods to leverage end-users’ spatial knowledge.
Location Analysis: A decision-making procedure, concerned with the study and development of models, techniques, and tools aimed at identifying the most suitable location within a set (site selection) or ?without a pre-established set (site search) to realize a number of objectives through offering good and hopefully optimal solutions.