A systematic literature review: setting a basis for smart and sustainable city performance measurement

Abstract

The growing amount of data and the inventive solutions that arise from it create opportunities to construct and manage smart sustainable cities. Before attempting to establish appropriate solutions in this regard, it is crucial to clearly grasp what smart and sustainable cities are and the aspects around which they are built. The purpose of this study is to critically analyze and evaluate the studies that have been conducted on smart and/or sustainable cities and to provide a basis for the measurement of smartness and sustainability of cities. In this context, using Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology, the smart city, sustainable city, and smart sustainable city concepts are firstly defined. After that, the indicators for the assessment of the smartness and sustainability of cities and the selection processes of these indicators are analyzed. According to the analysis, the studies were grouped based on the use of (i) selection criteria, (ii) selection methods/tools, and (iii) models used and 14 criteria were deduced from the literature for the evaluation of performance assessment indicators: measurability, availability, completeness, relevance, independence, reliability, currency, responsiveness, simplicity, representativeness, cost-effectiveness, consistency, comparability, and consensus. This study aims to support other studies and applications of authorities on creating and assessing a smart and sustainable city (i.e., the indicators) that want to join the 2030 Agenda but face problems regarding their cities' specific conditions. The first step towards creating a smart sustainable city can be taken by determining the most suitable indicators for the city.