Urban and municipalities management
V. Dhenge; G. Nimbarte
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Smart cities are technology-driven urban agglomerations. Sustainability, competitiveness, and quality of life are the three cardinal principles for smart cities. The available studies specific to smart cities are related to smart technologies, innovations, smart infrastructure, ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Smart cities are technology-driven urban agglomerations. Sustainability, competitiveness, and quality of life are the three cardinal principles for smart cities. The available studies specific to smart cities are related to smart technologies, innovations, smart infrastructure, etc., and limited studies are conducted from citizens’ perspectives. The present study aims to assess the impact of governance, general well-being, also called ease of living of citizens, and citizens’ perception of smart cities on their quality of life in mid-sized smart cities of India. The innovation and novelty of present study is that it attempts to fill the research gap in studies on smart cities by adopting the citizen-centric approach rather than infrastructure and technology-centric approach in developing countries. METHODOLOGY: Three Indian mid-sized smart cities, Pune, Nagpur, and Indore were identified for the study. For the purpose of this study, a few hypotheses were developed and a structured questionnaire was prepared from the literature review. The data was collected from Pune, Nagpur, and Indore smart cities and it was analyzed by performing factorial analysis and Structural Equation Modelling using appropriate statistical package software.FINDINGS: The findings from the statistical analysis validated the hypotheses. The results of the study indicate a strong positive impact of citizens’ perception of smart cities on quality of life (Standardized Estimates = 0.66) while governance (Standardized Estimates = 0.11) and ease of living (SE=0.46) presented low to medium impact relationship with citizens’ quality of life.CONCLUSION: The findings of this study concludes that citizens’ perception has highest influence on their quality of life. Considering these findings in the context of mid-sized smart cities, this study significantly contributes in existing research on tools and indicators of quality-of-life assessment in urban centers specifically in developing countries. This research article attempts to provide a substantial theoretical and practical contribution to urban studies.
Information and communications technology in Urban Management
M. Mirzapour; S. Tootian; G.R. Memarzadeh; G.R. Hashemzadeh Khorasgani
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Open governance is considered an important tool to solve complicated issues in countries, increase efficiency, and build public trust based on indicators like information transparency and public participation using Information and Communication Technologies. Therefore, considering ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Open governance is considered an important tool to solve complicated issues in countries, increase efficiency, and build public trust based on indicators like information transparency and public participation using Information and Communication Technologies. Therefore, considering that no research with this title has been conducted in Iran, this research was studied in the municipalities of Tehran Province, Iran, with the aim of identifying the factors that constitute open governance in Iran's public institutions.METHODS: The present study is mixed-method research. In the qualitative part, interviews and theme analysis were used, while the quantitative part used a descriptive method. The study population in the qualitative section consisted of university experts and specialists who were knowledgeable about the subject of the study. Purposive sampling was used, and after conducting 20 interviews, theoretical saturation was achieved. This study was conducted in the first half of 2023. The study population in the quantitative section consisted of all senior managers of municipalities in Tehran Province, estimated to be around 440 individuals. Using the Cochran formula, 205 individuals were selected as the sample. Data was collected using both library and field methods. A 23-item questionnaire with a Likert scale was constructed, and validity and reliability were checked in all sections. SPSS-24 software was used for the descriptive part, and Smart PLS 3 software was used for analysis, including Pearson's correlation test, one-sample t-test, and structural equation modeling.FINDINGS: The findings indicated that the dimensions of open data, open service and open process were found for the establishment of open cooperation. By performing the first-order factor analysis, the factor loadings between the indicators and dimensions of the model were in a favorable condition. On the other hand, in the second-order factor analysis, the factors open data, open service, and open process were determined at 0.964, 0.968, and 0.955, respectively, which were considered significant according to Student’s t-test.CONCLUSION: Three key factors are needed to establish open governance. The open process includes policy changes, approval of necessary regulations, modification of organizational structures and activities. Providing open service, including systems and platforms that allow greater participation of civil society and other urban actors. Open data includes publishing public data, reporting on the performance of managers and public institutions in established platforms.
