Urban Smartness: Perspectives Arising in the Periphéria Project

The paper discusses the concept of “urban smartness” starting from theearly results of the Periphèria Project. Periphèria is a 30-month pilot B action fundedby the European Commission under the CIP ICT PSP Programme and it aims atdeploying convergent Future Internet platforms and services for the promotion ofsustainable lifestyles in and across emergent networks of “smart” peripheral cities inEurope. Periphèria develops the Living Lab premise of shifting technology R&Dout of the laboratory and into the real world in a systemic blend of technologicalwith social innovation. It defines five archetypical “Arenas”—specific urbansettings or innovation playgrounds, with defined social features and infrastructurerequirements—as the spaces where co-design and service integration processesunfold. The paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, the authors review the concept of urban smartness as it is recently discussed in the literature. In thesecond part, they present the early results of the Periphèria project payingattention to the city smartness, urban smartness, and perspectives. Finally, inthe third part, the spatial dimension of urban smartness is explored.