Sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the smart city: A tool or an approach? (An introduction)

Abstract

Abstract Smart cities and the SDGs are two potent policy-making paradigms that shape the thrust of academic and popular debates today. The SDGs represent a major multilateral effort to shift the stakeholders’ attention toward more sustainable and resilient pathways to growth and development. As regards the SDG 11, and the imperative of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, the big question is to what extent local authorities, frequently for lack of powers, resources, and know-how, may effectively implement the four-pronged goal of inclusion, safety, resilience, and sustainability. This chapter sheds light on this issue and, thus, discusses also the content of the volume.