Comparative analysis of smart city projects∗-implications for U-city

The majority of cities around the world are currently facing common socioeconomic urban problems resulting from a rapid increase in population; these problems include enlargement and concentration of urban facilities, aging population, rising crime rate, and threats to urban safety. Smart city projects are being implemented as solutions these problems in various parts of the world. This study selected a number of countries well known for their successful implementation of smart city projects: Korea, Japan, China, the United States, and several countries in Europe. This study compared and analyzed the characteristics of these projects, with particular regard to background, time, promotion system, and application area, to discover implications that should be considered when such projects are launched. The findings confirmed that the projects in East Asian countries had been enforced by the central government, whereas, in the United States, state governments, local governments, or private enterprises has been commissioned as the main actors of the program. A notable finding is that several of the European countries have built cooperative systems between the civil society, businesses, and local governments, and such an approach had led to successful consequences. Such outcomes imply that open and innovational cooperation systems should be formed for the demand side, and this can be achieved by the integration of the strong impetus of the governments, the technical skills of companies, and the support of citizens. This study posits that, although smart city projects are typically applied to develop new towns, they also should be implemented to urban regeneration projects as well.