People centric governance model for smart cities development: A systematic review, thematic analysis, and findings

Parappallil Mathew, Benoie Article People centric governance model for smart cities development: A systematic review, thematic analysis, and findings Research in Globalization Provided in Cooperation with: Elsevier Suggested Citation: Parappallil Mathew, Benoie (2024) : People centric governance model for smart cities development: A systematic review, thematic analysis, and findings, Research in Globalization, ISSN 2590-051X, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Vol. 9, pp. 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2024.100237 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331163 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/). People centric governance model for smart cities development: A systematic review, thematic analysis, and findings Benoie Parappallil Mathew * , Deepak Bangwal University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, P.O. Bidholi, Via-Prem Nagar, Vikasnagar, Uttarakhand 248007, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Smart Cities Government Policies People Quality of Life ABSTRACT In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, advanced urban planning and cutting-edge projects signify a dedication to modernity and prosperity. These nations, renowned for substantial energy reserves, are crucial players in the global energy landscape, contributing 45% of proven oil reserves, 25% of oil exports, and 18% of proven natural gas reserves. Significant investments in planned cities showcase the GCC region’s commitment to renewable energy with megaprojects serving as key promoters of a nationalist vision for modernization and sustainability. Criticism has been directed at ambitious designs and sustainability rhetoric, as seen in projects like Masdar City, originally envisioned as carbon-neutral but encountering challenges in realization. The implementation of Smart Cities in Oman is in its early stages, marked by a lack of comprehensive industrylevel studies and an absence of an established frameworkbased approach. Limited industry-level studies address citizen-centric Smart governance thereby impacting Quality of Life. Current research emphasizes technology and innovation rather than the cultural sentiments of the local community resulting in gaps in people-centric approach. Moreover, there’s no empirical research to validate the influence of People on Public-Private Partnership enterprises in Smart City development, necessitating the development of a conceptual framework or model to highlight the influence of people on Smart Cities. This deficiency is resulting in a stagnation of innovation and an insufficient quality of life. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of the participatory governance model in improving the quality of life for residents within the smart city. By addressing the identified deficiencies through the application of participatory governance, the research aims to pave the way for a more effective and people-centric approach to smart city development, ultimately fostering innovation, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting sustainable and inclusive outcomes. 1. Introduction Cities occupying only 4 % of the world land area are the epicenter of economic growth with 80 % of world GDP, resulting in rapid rural-tourban migration worldwide, an estimated 1.4 million relocating to cities every week. The projection is that cities will accommodate 68 % of the world’s population by 2050, presenting a multitude of challenges for government institutions to address, including housing infrastructure limitations, mobility and logistics challenges, overcrowding, unemployment, increased crime rates, water scarcity, energy demands, waste management constraints, and environmental concerns resulting in the need for rigorous regulations, reduced tax bases, and increased expenses impacting the livelihood of city dwellers. (Kankaala et al., 2018; Zheng et al., 2019; Macke et al., 2018)Fig. 1. Government’s adaptability of smart cities technologies are ever increasing, but proportionality with citizens discontent related to utilizing the right technology, information protocol rules, education, empowerment and participation opportunities. Government needs to connect and co-ordinate citizen behavior and effectiveness of Government policies to guarantee democratic engagement and trust (Twist et al., 2023). Smart cities are specifically designed for safer and sustainable living environment thereby equipped to mitigate the impact of climate change and withstand natural disasters enhancing the overall quality of life and contributes to economic growth driving innovation and entrepreneurship thereby attracts highly skilled individuals. The rapid pace of innovation in smart cities creates an ideal breeding ground for entrepreneurship, with various stakeholders, including academies, governments, shareholders, and amenity providers, all playing a role in * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (B. Parappallil Mathew), [email protected] (D. Bangwal). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Globalization journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/research-in-globalization https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2024.100237 Received 1 March 2024; Received in revised form 8 June 2024; Accepted 25 June 2024 Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 2 fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The development of sustainable infrastructure addressing the diverse modern cities challenges which includes information and communication technologies (ICTs) remains a critical quality of the smart city. These innovations have resulted in creation of an infrastructure development framework capable of handling the multifaceted demands of a rapidly evolving urban conditions, being the backbone upon which smart cities can thrive and flourish in the years to come. (Macke et al., 2018; Mitra et al., 2022; Kankaala et al., 2018; Kinelski, 2022). Modern urbanization is credited to the relationship between technology, automation and sustainability. Even though human intelligence conglomerates with technology progress to create synergies, collaboration between automation and innovation delivers smart urban ecosystem offering simplicity, ease, productivity and functionality (Huda, Ahmed, Adnan, Ali, & Naeem, 2024). A smart city is an urban area that utilizes the digital framework of the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the quality of life for citizens, strengthen relationships between government and the public, and promote comprehensive and sustainable growth (Alam & Siddiqui, 2023; Bayat & Kawalek, 2021). The modern urban environment is composed of a diverse range of stakeholders including entrepreneurs, elected officials, public administrators, technology designers, merchants, marketplaces, and citizens (Mitra et al., 2022). The pivotal role of ICT as an enabler for interaction between citizens, business and different government stakeholders leading to smart governance e-programs encourages local level collaboration to address communal issues. This enable government to garner support, input from citizens and foster participatory environment (Sekar & Sasipriya, 2021). Furthermore, Governments aim to use smart city initiatives optimizing energy and resources utilization creating economic flourishing and sustainable businesses. Thus, smart cities are a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, providing social and economic benefits to both the government and citizens with focus on competitiveness in economic prosperity, responsible governance, and sustainability. Smart cities enhances local competitiveness through innovation to attract latent digitally influencing urban growth and competitive environment. Specific policy tailored to the needs of the smart city aligned with the complexity derived from the analysis of each cities needs to be implemented for the success of the smart city (Marchesani, Masciarelli, & Bikfalvi, 2023). Cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels consume nearly 68 % of the world’s energy generation and account for 70 % of greenhouse gas emissions, presenting a significant challenge for policy makers who are forced to design urban infrastructure providing sustainable solutions and endorsing environmental wellness not only for their present and but also for the future citizens of these cities’. The concept of smart cities, which originated as part of the Smarter Planet Initiative in 2008 (Prakash, 2019), has evolved significantly with UNESCO now taking a leading role with respect to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The central role of cities based on vision and expandability has been sharpened by UNESCO, as recognized by the Global Goals to deliver sustainable and equitable development which align with its core mandate of promoting people-centered development in the areas of education, the sciences, culture, and communication and information, aiming to shape future cities (Cathelat, 2019). This paper intends to articulate the need for a People-Centric Governance model approach for Smart Cities in the modern era. The present definition of how smart city brings value to modern society is more tied to technology innovation and wealth, at the same time the human factor and how their ever dynamic essentials can be pacified needs to be accounted to meet customer satisfaction. With booming Smart City concept on a global scale as never seen before, driving the sustainability model for future living is key to the success of the future generation. Hence a deep dive into how the smart city concept have evolved till date, motivation behind this study and contributions to the future smart city development will be comprehensively realized in this article. Following a Thematic Literature Review based on below will be detailed to identify the major findings and the focus of the current research based on interferences and gaps. Theme 1: Transforming GCC/Oman economy dependency on Oil & Gas into sustainable Smart Cities economy. Theme 2: Smart Cities – Information and Communication Technology (ICT) governance model with Passive Citizen Participation. Theme 3: Smart Cities – Poor Quality of Life based on poor people centric governance. Theme 4: Smart Cities – Infrastructure for Sustainable Ecosystem. Theme 5: Smart Cities with Public-Private Partnership. This enables extrapolation of the Business Problem Statement thereby mapping out from various management theories, how influential and underpinning theory needs to be designated to develop a People Fig. 1. Rapid Urbanization of cities from year 1800 to 2050. (Ibrahim et al., 2016). B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 3 centric Governance model for a futuristic sustainable smart city. 2. Smart city Modern cities often lacks essential components predominantly Quality of Life, which can only be achieved through well-planned infrastructure which prioritizes sustainability and is facilitated by IoTs and Big Data in Smart Cities, benefiting both governments and populations, progressively being credited as a vital resolution to the challenges posed by rapid urbanization (Mamlook et al., 2019; Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Government of India, 2021; Prakash, 2019). Being “smart” means that the city is expected to provide competent, inhabitable, and sustainable surroundings (Joshi et al., 2016). Academic research on smart cities primarily focuses on providing better services to the society by utilizing information technology which enhances economic effectiveness by integrating people and infrastructure through urban management (Al-Kindi & Al-Khanjari, 2020). Through integration of advanced technologies and essential services Smarty cities aim to optimize and sustain the operations of a community, promoting prosperous, vibrant, and healthy living. This integration consists of six core components: People, Economy, Mobility, Living, Governance, and Environment (Fig. 2). The success of a smart city is closely tied to the Quality of Life (QOL) of its citizens (Macke et al., 2018), as defined by the World Health Organization as “an individual’s perception of their position in life, in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns, within their cultural and value systems (Chen & Chan, 2022; H. Kumar et al., 2018). With the continual advancements in Information Technology, the concept of a smart city has evolved over time, beginning with the notion of an “intelligent,” “digital,” and “smart” city, to the current emphasis on “smart sustainability.” The Six Smart Components, as outlined in the Table 1 below (Apanaviciene et al., 2020; Chen & Chan, 2022; Janurova et al., 2020; Sameer et al., 2022b), represent the core elements of this evolving definition. 3. Background of the study The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman, are actively shaping their future through implementation of innovative architecture that showcases modernism and affluence through urban planning and cutting-edge projects utilizing the state-of-the-art technologies (al Jabri et al., 2022; Ali & al Hinai, 2018; Al-Kindi & Al-Khanjari, 2020; Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020; Asmyatullin et al., 2020a; Hamed et al., 2020; Sameer et al., 2022a). These countries are also known for their abundant energy reserves, which account for approximately 45 % of the world’s proven oil reserves, 25 % of the world’s oil exports, and 18 % of the world’s proven natural gas reserves (Hereher & El Kenawy, 2020). The GCC countries have experienced rapid economic growth and increased energy consumption, which is expected to continue rising in line with population growth and industrialization in the region (Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020; Mondal et al., 2016). The 2008 and 2014 economic crises have had significant impact on Fig. 2. Smart Sustainable City Six Dimensions and ICTs (Ibrahim et al., 2018). Table 1 Components of Smart City. Components of Smart City Associated to Urban Life Smart Economy Industry, Innovation and Competitiveness Smart People Education, Creativity and Social Capital Smart Governance E-democracy, Participation and Empowerment Smart Mobility Logistics, Infrastructures and Transportation Smart Environment Efficiency, Sustainability and Natural Resources Smart Living Security, Quality and Culture of Life B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 4 oil-exporting countries like Oman, due to the consequential damages of low oil prices and associated government expenses stickiness creating deficient to the high percentage of oil revenue influencing the projected total government revenue (Sameer et al., 2022b). The decline in oil prices in 2014–2016 had a negative impact on Omani exports and GDP, resulting in a downgrade of the country’s credit rating due to its reliance on oil for generating government revenue, exports, and outputs. In response, the government removed fuel product subsidies, restructured corporate taxes, and imposed a 5 % value-added tax (VAT). Oil price fluctuations and depleting Oil reserves are the two main challenges Oman faces for sustainable economic growth. Along with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Oman has embarked on planned cities oriented towards economization and sustainable development, which requires economic diversification and savings programs, which has been embedded into the core of the National Visions (Al-Saidi, 2020a). The proportional energy demand in co-relation with increasing population drives renewable energy sources, like solar and wind to be tapped to drive this expansion, off which wind is more effective than solar. This long-term transition into renewable energy not only will reduce dependance on hydrocarbon but also diversify the economy and energy segment (Al Lawati, 2022a; Al-Saidi, 2020a; Azam et al., 2018). Oman’s geographical location is positioned to generate renewable energy through wind and solar energy with potential to position itself as a forerunner in the renewables sector. This demands a clear roadmap in the country’s energy landscape with key milestones to propel the shift to renewable energy (Al Hatmi et al., 2014a). Studies have confirmed utilization of smart grid technology as a promising option to integrate the significant renewable energy sources like solar, tidal, and wind energy for Oman (Al-Badi et al., 2020; Khalil, 2021). However, this transition from hydrocarbon energy into sustainable renewables presents substantial obstacles (Al-Saidi, 2020a). In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, majority of distributed solar capacity is concentrated in planned cities, such as Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates and Education City and Musheireb in Qatar. Energy-related megaprojects in the region also include nuclear power plants, such as in Saudi Arabia and UAE (Barakah nuclear power plant), playing a significant role of in the GCC region energy transition considering the extrinsic values of this centralized and large-scale tactic (Al-Saidi, 2020a; Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020). Therefore, this Megaprojects, in a formal tone, serves in promoting a nationalist vision of the GCC states incorporating global city status, best practices, and categorize modernization and sustainability while attempting to maintain local ethos and uniqueness. However, the challenge of sustainability arises due to the substantial carbon emissions, calories, waste, and water demand, resulting in import dependencies. The ostentatious design and rhetoric of sustainability in these projects have been criticized, such as the non-realization of Masdar City, deemed carbon neutral. These limited city projects are in different phases of implementation as identified in Table 2 (Al-Saidi, 2020a; Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020; Asmyatullin et al., 2020). Given the scarcity of consistent data pertaining to the GCC countries, it is difficult to accurately assess the nature and categorization of the existing and new mega-projects’ urban expansion. Furthermore, due to the substantial fossil fuel consumption of these projects having a significant impact on the environment, contrasting the sustainability goals outlined in the roadmap for urban development and ecological modernization. This deviance from the sustainability goals also overlooks the cultural traditions and heritage of the local communities, as a considerable portion of these societies still place great importance on local customs and culture (Al Hatmi et al., 2014b; Papa et al., 2017; Sameer et al., 2022b). The local population in GCC countries predominantly resides in luxurious suburban homes, which isolates them from the mainstream population, hindering the realization of a low-carbon future (Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020; Mamlook et al., 2019). The advancement of information and communication technologies has a profound impact on all human activities, philanthropically mapping the information society cities as a hub for the diverse activities that are increasingly dependent on technology (Chen & Chan, 2022; Fletcher, 2020). Thereby several cities have been branded as digital, electronic, virtual, informational, and smart, with both society and the contemporary economy depending on ICT as the primary engine for the development of cities utilizing electronic user data, applications, and services to address complex problems to collaborate in online environments (Alam & Siddiqui, 2023; Joshi et al., 2016). The Vision 2040 plan of the Sultanate of Oman aims to establish comprehensive smart cities, integrating a range of functions such as joint intelligence, technology, creativity, and public development. This plan serves as a 20-year national guide and positioning for multi-sector planning activities and represents a key reference for the Sultanate’s futuristic development goals (Oman Vision 2040 −Vision Document, 2020). The objective of the plan is to establish a flourishing and heterogeneous economy that is built upon innovation, integration, and equal opportunities aiming to attain inclusive and sustainable development through effective economic leadership. This will help ensure financial sustainability and diversify public revenues accordingly increasing the Omani nationals participation in the private sector and increase foreign investment GDP to 42 % and 10 % respectively (Al Lawati, 2022a). Thus Oman Vision 2040 is a comprehensive roadmap aimed at enhancing Oman’s economic competitiveness and social wellbeing by removing obstacles to keep pace with global changes. Education technology reforms are crucial for cooperation between IT and communication, and recent advancements in this area are key to global education (Al Lawati, 2022a; Al-Kindi & Al-Khanjari, 2020; Bibri, 2021a). The planned city architecture in the region is impressive, but the final economic and urban development model has yet to be realized. The city labels need to be re-evaluated, considering the contribution of planned cities to a low-carbon future in the region (Al-Saidi & Zaidan, 2020; Mamlook et al., 2019). 4. Motivation and contribution of the study Although there has been an excessive focus on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in relation to the global implementation of Smart Cities, the reality is that there has been a disconnection between these technologies and the actual occupants of these cities. This has led to the failure of Smart Cities initiatives. If stakeholders and governments can identify and address the barriers and bottlenecks beforehand, they can implement appropriate corrective Table 2 Smart Cities in GCC. Sl. No. # Partial or in final phase of implementation (Total Investment: $141.25 Billion) In initial phase of implementation (Total Investment: $693.35 Billion) 1 Lusail City, Qatar ($45 Billion) South Al-Mutaa City, Qatar ($ 20 Billion) 2 Al-Ralidah Digital City, S.A ($70 Billion) Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City, S. A ($ 8 Billion) 3 FinTec Bay, Bahrain ($100 Million) Medina Knowledge Economic City, S. A ($ 7 Billion) 4 Innovation Park, Oman ($ 120 Million) King Abdullah Economic City, S. A ($ 100 Billion) 5 Sharjah Entrepreneur Center, UAE ($130 Million) Jeddah Economic City, S. A ($ 20 Billion) 6 Musherireb City, Qatar ($ 5.5 Billion) Jazzan Economic City, S. A. ($ 23 Billion) 7 MASDAR City, UAE ($ 20 Billion) Qiddiya Water Theme Park City, S. A. ($ 750 Million) 8 Education City, Qatar ($ 400 Million) King Salaman Energy Park, S. A. ($ 1.6 Billion) 9 Neom, S. A. ($ 500 Billion) 10 Madinat Al Irfan, Oman. ($13 Billion) B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 5 actions to overcome these obstacles and facilitate the implementation and growth of Smart Cities. Previous experience with previously implemented Smart Cities has shown that governance inefficiencies and a lack of collaboration with citizens can hinder the realization of these initiatives and the growth of related sectors in the community, resulting in a lack of benefits for stakeholders. In order to determine the most effective means of enhancing the Quality of Life within a people-centric approach for Public Private Partnership enterprise, a conceptual model for the Smart City Ecosystem will be developed and analyzed to identify and rank the key factors and sub-factors that act as barriers or bottlenecks to its successful implementation. As no Smart City has been implemented in Oman, there is a scarcity of industry-level studies regarding the implementation of Smart Cities within the country. No comprehensive framework-based approach for these studies has been developed, and there has been no examination of how barriers affect local people’s engagement or participation in Smart City development. Existing studies at the industry level that focus on citizen-centric or people-centric Smart Governance are limited. Although various frameworks for Smart Cities exist, a people-centric conceptual model integrating Smart Governance with the Smart Ecosystem and Environment (Infrastructure) is missing. Additionally, limited industry-level studies address the Quality of Life for citizens in the context of Smart Cities. Although frameworks for Smart Cities have been developed, they lack a conceptual model that integrates Smart People with the Smart Ecosystem. Research in this field has predominantly focused on technology and innovation rather than on the cultural sentiments of the local community of end users. While frameworks based on the Smart Environment for Smart Cities exist, they fail to incorporate a people-centric approach that integrates local sentiments with the Smart Environment and Ecosystem. Furthermore, there is an absence of empirical research to test and validate the influence of people on Public-Private Partnership enterprises in the development of Smart Cities. Thus, there is a need to develop a conceptual framework or model that highlights the influence of people on Smart Environment, Smart Governance, and Ecosystem policies. This will help in creating a more inclusive and effective approach to Smart City development in Oman. 5. Literature Review themes Theme-based search was performed on Scopus, Google Scholar, Emerald, Elsevier, Springer, UNESCO, Science Direct, Sage, Wiley, etc. to identify various sources of literature conducted in the past related to the key words: Smart, Cities, Government, Policies, People, Quality of Life. Sources which were reviewed are research articles and papers, newspaper articles and industry reports. 94 Literatures were collected from the above search are compiled and segregated according to the following themes per Table 3. The notion of the smart city is multifaceted because there exists no single, universal way of making a city ‘smart’ is in practice. Almost all the metropolitan cities have carried out economic advancement strategies through advancement in manufacturing & production, ICT, health machineries, service sectors and most recently on smart cities promoting innovation, creative businesses, and sustainability (Neirotti et al., 2014). This research intends to identify barriers to Quality of Life in people centric approach for Public Private Partnership enterprise to manage successful implementation of Smart Cities focused on five major themes, which are: 6. Theme 1: Transforming GCC/Oman economy dependency on oil & Gas into sustainable Smart cities economy GCC countries, including Oman have boarded on a major financial diversification program principally on energy supply sector which are heavily bestowed with enormous fossil fuel resources and ample renewable energy, especially solar (Al Hatmi et al., 2014b) and, to a lesser extent, wind (Azam et al., 2018). Due to the presence of strong wind in the coastal geography in the Sultanate of Oman, the wind turbine has great potential to deliver energy demands in the communities (Ahshan et al., 2018). The GCC countries’ awareness about their depleting hydrocarbon reserves and fluctuating oil prices are correlated to slow upward trend in the economic breakeven cost resulting in budget shortage, high liability, and exhaustion of reserve resources. These consequently hampers the economic legacy for upcoming generations until proper spending controls are established to carefully directs the public commitment (Al Jabri et al., 2022). A rationale investing approach in Renewable Energy Technology (RETs) for final energy enables the countries to reduce reliance on their valuable and finite fossil fuel resources for domestic use and increase their export earnings. Techno-economic feasibility investigations underlines that these countries could manage to develop their long-term strategy, engage in R&D, and aim to produce a certain percentage of total electricity from solar and wind (Bhambare et al., 2018; Hereher & El Kenawy, 2020). But lack of coordination with national and regional development and lack of stakeholders’ involvement hinders this advantage (Mondal et al., 2016). The fuel consumption for Desalination plants which are powered 97.5 % through Natural Gas and 2.5 % through Diesel is increasing annually at 3 % (Bhambare et al., 2018). Oman has less than 5 % CAAGR (Compound Average Annual Growth Rate) for non-Oil and Gas export revenue and haven’t shown any visible shift towards low-carbon energy system (Birol, 2021). The integration of solar, tidal and wind energy through smart grid technology looks very promising for Oman with abundant renewable energy available for utilization (Al-Badi et al., 2020). Energy transition from powering through fossil fuels to sustainable renewable energy including waste management comes with immense challenges (Al-Saidi, 2020b; Okedu et al., 2022). The growing evolution of information and communication technologies has led to development in human activities related to electronics and networks have matured cities into digital, electronic, virtual, informational, and smart city (Chidubem Iluyemi et al., 2022). The range of functions performed by smart cities: collective intelligence, technology exchange, creativity, and community development (Gholamian et al., 2020). The Sultanate of Oman seeks to embody the mechanisms of smart cities through Sultanate’s 2040 plan, to establish an integrated smart city inclusive of scientific, practical, and social branches (Hamed et al., 2020). The ability of the Sultanate of Oman to develop an infrastructure in consistent with the smart city system. Work is still ongoing to make it a beacon and a beam to be followed in this field (Ahshan et al., 2018; Asmyatullin et al., 2020). Oman Vision 2040 roadmap projects long term strategic goals aspiring to diversify revenue generation thereby be independent of hydrocarbon sector, promoting economic competitiveness and social wellbeing. This vision empowers knowledge-based society, leading healthcare, active lifestyle, and lifelong learning education to develop future skills through scientific research to build national capacity through Public Private Partnership (Oman Vision 2040, 2020). Components of Smart Cities according to Oman Vision 2040 consists of 1) Smart economy, 2) Smart people, 3) Smart environment, 4) Policy, 5) Smart mobility, 6) Smart Government, 7) Smart living and Management and Table 3 Major Themes of the Literature Review. Sl. No. Description 1 Transforming GCC/Oman economy dependency on Oil & Gas into sustainable Smart Cities economy. 2 Smart Cities – ICT/Big Data Management governance model with passive citizen participation. 3 Smart Cities −Poor Quality of Life based on poor people centric governance. 4 Smart Cities −infrastructure for sustainable ecosystem. 5 Smart Cities with Public-Private Partnership. B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 6 Organization (Al Lawati, 2022a; Sameer et al., 2022a). Specifically designed policymakers and shareholders assigns ruling family members to the association boards to benefit the energy transition roadmap (Al Lawati, 2022b; Alshubiri et al., 2020). Strategic planning initiatives needs to align with sustainability and quality assurance of the smart city program in Oman through initiative derived up-down (Masaud et al., 2022). Sustainability and competitiveness in smart cities depend on the citizen’s adaptivity to consent new lifestyle which is possible through educating the citizens utilizing smart knowledge tools through Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) providing adequate learning resources and convenient tools for interaction (Al-Kindi & Al-Khanjari, 2020). ICT not only empower citizens, but also fosters a sense of ownership and accountability towards their cities (Sekar & Sasipriya, 2021). Surveys have established that the shortfall in lack of citizen participation despite the role of Digital Participatory Program (DPP) was emphasized in sustainable smart city. Both Government and People needs to collaborate to guarantee gradual transition to smart cities through key policies to ascertain readiness of local community digital involvement to empower the planning process of Smart City development (Sameer et al., 2022b). GCC citizens’ trust on technology, prioritizing corporate welfares, surveillance and confidentiality raises concerns, less explored in the prevailing literatures. Sample magnitude of participants’ demographics limitation advocates scope for future research to develop generalizability and representativeness. Furthermore, necessitates demand for balanced communication and stakeholder engagement policies (Mutambik, 2023). Based on the above literature review, there is limited studies at industry level with reference to implementation of Smart Cities in Oman. Furthermore, limited study done in context on barriers to local people engagement or participation in development of Smart City in Oman is performed (Fig. 3). 7. Theme 2: Smart cities – Information and communication technology (ICT) governance model with passive citizen participation. Advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are utilized in design of Smart Cities through artificial Intelligence, sensors and Smart phone apps fostering robust economic and environmental advancement through hands-on governance grounded on technological, welfare and social vision (Bayat & Kawalek, 2021; Saberi & Menes, 2020). The Smart Cities have evolved over the ages, as referred below (Kinelski, 2022). - Smart City 1.0 utilizes advanced technology through ICT. - Smart City 2.0 is predominantly driven by public management and local authorities taking advantage of modern technologies to improve citizens’ quality of life. - Smart City 3.0 since 2015, utilizes innovative technologies to overcome community problems thereby improving the quality of life in smart cities popularizing shared economy. London and Barcelona are data-driven cities designed to tap capacity of integrated smart and sustainable urbanism delivering sustainable smart cities through big data innovation focused on enhancing sustainability. This unique smart city model will enhance new formulae with reference to the policies and development based on big data thereby refining, advancing, and upholding the objectives of sustainability for the smart city through integration of innovative technologies and urban strategies (Bibri & Krogstie, 2019). This will guarantee policymakers clearly acknowledge these factors as key elements of success (Bibri & Krogstie, 2020a). Unfortunately, innovative technologies and automated mode of operations places citizens as passive beneficiaries with possible weakened confidence among the community and most likely resulting in losing the trust and genuineness in the long-term for a hopeful city prospect due to possibility of exploitation of personnel data by the Smart City developers, Institutes and Government establishments. In the case of Chattanooga and Montgomery in USA, despite the most advanced technology used, sustainability together with democratic society cannot be prospered due to resentment and factions that continued to hamper innovation and creativity in people participation (Fletcher, 2020). In the case of Natal, Brazil, the local population were predominately young, lacked educational and occupational skills leading to increase in criminal activities like murder, robbery, assault, cheating and narcotics. Other challenges were the less affordability of the local population in occupying the smart city housing and poor mobility network connecting the adjacent cities with Natal (Cacho et al., 2016). Due to lack of people participation and top-down smart city development approach in Hong Kong, inefficient ICT design and poor cultural integration resulted in Fig. 3. Literature Review Theme-1: References, Interference and Gaps. B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 7 government modifying the application for governance and new development reforms were initiated to align with local culture (Sun et al., 2022). Smart Cities 4.0 are hyper-connected utilizing latest technology and bigdata ensuring trust to attract talents to foster creative environment and tolerance to citizen participation thereby accomplishing sustainability targets of improving the quality of life and environment friendly, to deliver a high value for the inhabitants. Sustainable growth objectives related to people are related to no scarcity, good well-being, decent careers, and respectable education whereas obstacles are based on complicated policies and regulations, obtaining the proper partner or supplier and control data security and privacy (Kinelski, 2022). Distinguishability of smart city to influence citizen participation is associated to the unique public demand image as defined a strategic program aligned among all stakeholders in terms of what the smart city is and how it is to be implemented in the urban realm. Three different strategies of visibility 1) the COR, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 2) Plusstaden, Sweden and 3) project Sidewalk Toronto, Canada represents three different strategies of making the smart city visible: symbolic presence, modelling smart environments, and ubiquitous invisible smart respectively (Torisson, 2022). As generally understood, smart city policies commence with incredibly ambitious proposals, which eventually get confronted with challenges restricting from local context and are forced to downsize, cancel, or modify the scope. Hence smart cities need to develop clear and realistic implementation strategy delivering sustainability capitalizing on comprehensively outlined enterprise and governance framework to include people participation(Papa et al., 2017). Based on research study on Smart City Namur, Belgium, lack of citizen participations resulted in smart city policy mandated bottom-up approach of smart city development as democratic, co-creators and ICT users. Further strategies for more citizen centric approach through documenting and assessing in a scientific manner ensures citizen participation (Simonofski et al., 2017). Smart city reformation is less about wholesale transformation and more about the incremental enactment of numerous initiatives and interventions by the stakeholders like governments, corporates, institutions, and citizens through apps (Taylor Buck & While, 2017). Data captured from the citizens after their inputs shall feed into the future design on the Smart City Initiative (SCI), thereby enabling “citizenenabled urban data” (CEUD) for local urban governance. Masdar City (United Arab Emirates), Songdo International Business District (South Korea) and NEOM (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) are designed based on centralized governance and for Quayside, Toronto (Canada) is based on partnership between government and private entity. Smart cities in traditional cities like Barcelona, New York and London adapted governance control between government, institutions, and corporate organization with democratic citizen participation. Larger cities like London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Glasgow lately have a weak trackrecord associated with local authority-led smart city innovation (Taylor Buck & While, 2017). Cities with a leadership and legacy of democratic approach emphasize openness, privacy, and citizen engagement with hybrid arrangement city as a provider (Bayat & Kawalek, 2021). Australian Smart Cities align with digital revolution based on three tier government governance consisting of national, state and region resulting in composite smart policy arising from multiple relationships which ultimately align this complex governance model into technology and digital framework for shaping smart cities. Hence Australian governments have tri-lateral governance system with no authority vested on the end user or local government authorities resulting in poor people centric smart cities (Dowling et al., 2021). Smart cities need infra-structure with participatory governance model having adequate funding to attract talents and at the same time deliver smart technologies, smart people, and Smart collaboration (Dong et al., 2022). Therefore, smart cities need to invest in human resources, social capital, and ICT infrastructure to support public participation thereby fueling sustainable economic growth with high quality of life through participatory governance (Meijer & Bolívar, 2016). Community engagement is key to delivering urban smartness utilizing the embedded core values of citizen-centeredness and greenness. The implementation of a techno-bureaucratic governance model is expected to enhance the citizens’ participation in the decision-making processes of smart cities, increasing the transparency of bureaucratic actions, minimizing the risks of exploitation of disadvantaged classes by social elites, and paving the way for greater opportunities of citizens’ involvement. Smart City utilizing digital technologies, communication tools and data analytics to foster an effective service environment, enhancing quality of life and sustainability. Governance application offers transparency, accountability and citizen engagements leveraging IoT devices and sensors, smart city optimizes infrastructure utilization and provide real time traffic management, improving safety and reducing congestion, fostering citizen government interaction fostering trust and collaboration enriching quality of life (Gracias, Parnell, Specking, Pohl, & Buchanan, 2023). Data sovereignty is the first step towards technological sovereignty stimulating the citizens’ willingness for an active role in the design of a smart city intended to awaken the ‘dormant’ assets of citizens actuating the purpose of co-creation (Palumbo et al., 2021). “Smart” governance is viewed as foundational to creating smart cities capable of effectively supporting the objectives of the given smart initiative (Deakin, 2014). Despite notable similarities in the governance model in three cities like Turin, Italy, Munich, Germany and Seattle, USA and one multi-city cooperation, eCityGov Alliance, Pacific Northwest with each case exhibits specific methods of conflict resolution. However, stakeholder involvement in governance was found fundamental across all cases, therefore stakeholder relationship management is a critical success or failure factor for initiatives (Alawadhi & Scholl, 2016; Penmetsa & Camara, 2022). Since each city has its own characteristics, there is no one technological solution that works for all the cities. Hence the technology viability needs to be reworked based on ecological and technology advancements of the specific city to deliver the future vision (Bibri & Krogstie, 2019). Sentimental analysis identifies, differentiate, organize and categorize sentiments based on crowd sensing provides market insight and public attitudes into knowledgeable and prospective decision-making thus ensure effective smart-city-governance (A. Kumar & Jaiswal, 2022). Therefore, the driving factor to achieve the sustainable society as defined by the project’s stakeholders is engaged with universities, research councils, the energy sector, local government, and citizens, who are interested to develop, compile, and disseminate knowledge for sustainable society (Bibri, 2018). The four smart city initiatives used different governance models ranging from network, over hybrid, to hierarchical. These models encompassed several similar and highly instrumental elements such as broad and inclusive stakeholder participation, consensus-seeking mechanisms, conflict avoidance and resolution mechanisms, transparency, tight project monitoring, and risk control (Alawadhi & Scholl, 2016). Based on the above literature review, despite Technology advancements there are limited studies focusing on citizen or people centric Smart governance. Even though methodologies and models have been developed for Smart Cities, people centric based governance model approach is missing integrating Smart Governance with Smart People & Smart Environment (Fig. 4). 8. Theme 3: Smart cities – Poor quality of life based on poor people centric governance Quality of Life (QOL) is a crucial ingredient and closely correlated to supreme governance of a smart city development. According to the World Health Organization (Mokhtari-Hessari & Montazeri, 2020; World Health Organization, 1998), QOL is defined as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in their context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 8 expectations, standards and concerns.” QOL can influence the sustainable development in terms of community, economic, infrastructure and environment well-being (Felce et al., 1995; Theofilou, 2013). Even though Smart City Development (SCD) intends to deliver enhanced infrastructure, living conditions and quality of life, the citizens’ perspective and priorities are lacking due to poor citizens’ participation in SCD process. Due to low cost, Information and communication technologies (ICTs) is leveraged to strengthen public services efficiency, well-being of citizens, sustainability and fiscal growth through smart applications improving connectivity, living overheads, fostering green urban planning without human intervention (H. Kumar et al., 2018; Macke et al., 2018). Moreover, the demographic of the citizens like education rank, age and smart technology handling capability also impacts the citizens’ participation (Chen & Chan, 2022). Consequently, facing security and privacy concerns in smart cities due to urban complexities, cost and environmental challenges enhances Quality of Life utilizing ICT through Block chain Technology (Ullah, Naeem, Coronato, Ribino, & De Pietro, 2023). The utilization of Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities enables quality of people living improving employment opportunity, reduce crime rate, women empowerment, encourage more learning, preventing tax scam and improved job fulfillment (Alam & Siddiqui, 2023; Moustaka et al., 2019). Moreover, insufficient IoT security, maintenance challenges, higher operating cost, consumer privacy concerns and confidence of residents on new technologies can be overwhelmed through efficiency, democratizing, intractability, and interoperability of Blockchain technology (Chinnasamy et al., 2021). Integrating technologies IoT, Big Data, Fog computing in Smart Cities elevates chances for leakage of confidential information due to inadequate security, data management issues and privacy concern. Blockchain leverages the potential advantages the potential advantages with reference to security and confidentiality which can be utilized in smart cities (Panda, Jena, Swain, & Satapathy, 2021). Federated learning safeguards sensitive information focusing on security, privacy and practical application in smart cities (Pandya, et al., 2023). Governance is a significant challenge in the development of a Smart City through stakeholders’ engagement which includes citizens, businesses, city management teams and technology providers through collaborative approach of the Organicity framework enabling the city communities to engross technology providers and city management addressing specific city challenge through digital solution. Inappropriately governance mechanism remains under explored globally. Urban innovation management has limited focus to smart governance due to managerial and policy aspects alongside technology apprehensions from theoretical and practical perspectives (Mora, Gerli, Ardito, & Petruzzelli, 2023). Theoretical implication on how technology impacts socio-economic behavior and practical implication like policy makers and practitioner leveraging technology for citizen engagement and sustainable development are key to success of futuristic smart city. Understanding and maximizing integration of digital technologies and sustainability will drive to shape the new environmental behavior of smart cities on utilizing technology to direct citizens towards sustainability based attitudes and performance (Caputo, Magliocca, Canestrino, & Rescigno, 2023). Smart City utilizing ICT to integrate all the city services through citywide governance. The two proposed components for Smart Cities provide a direct line-of-sight for citizen requirements, the city services obligations and the infrastructure qualities that ultimately validate fulfillment of the citizen requirements (Cathelat, 2019). Future Smart Cities focus on the urban expansion challenges like technology, comprehensive urban program, financial sustainability, good governance, and environment through integration thereby improving the quality of life (Riffat et al., 2016). But sustainability is a balance between urban development and environmental protection keeping an eye on fairness among the occupants. Thereby smart and sustainable city needs to deliver adaptability, reliability, scalability, accessibility and resilient to mandate the following (Trindade et al., 2017): •Enhance quality of life •Guarantee economic progress and employment prospects •Gain access to public and municipal facilities or services •Environmentally sustainable development addressing climate change •Manage transparent operational regulatory and community governance process. Good governance and stakeholder management plays a pivotal role by utilizing technological advancements optimally while evolving shortand long-term management, organization and expansion strategies to realize the anticipated objectives (Riffat et al., 2016). Based on India’s Smart Cities Mission, four features: ease of living (urban mobility and housing development), smart governance (smart applications), connected communities (IoT & ICT) and urban resilience (green infrastructure) are key to smart cities. Integrating Machine Fig. 4. Literature Review Theme-2: References, Interference and Gaps. B. Parappallil Mathew and D. Bangwal Research in Globalization 9 (2024) 100237 15 tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication. CRediT authorship contribution statement Benoie Parappallil Mathew: Writing – original draft. Deepak Bangwal: Supervision. Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. References Ahshan, R., Al-Badi, A., Hosseinzadeh, N., & Shafiq, M. (2018, August 21). 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