Chapter 8: Cities Designing the Future

Technology is leading cities to design the future and rediscover the concept of the city as a form of a sustainable and smart community, adopting a smart approach to developing and sustaining urban policy initiatives. Cities planning a smart development do not necessarily become sustainable cities. Cities can build relationships with their inhabitants, involving people in public affairs and policies, without developing smart initiatives. The sustainability of cities relies on combining both smartness and participation as drivers, which enable said cities to design and build a path for driving sustainable development. This chapter more deeply examines the main dimensions that compel smart cities to proceed toward sustainability: technology, people, and institutions.