Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Smart Cities

by Vanessa Ratten (Author)

There has been increased emphasis on smart cities due to the economic, environmental and technological shifts that have impacted on society. This book focuses on how cities are becoming smarter, more innovative and entrepreneurial due to the increased pressures placed on them from societal changes in the global business environment. The book defines a smart city as an urban or rural development that integrates technology to enhance a city’s assets, which may include community services, parkland, education, transportation and energy sources.

The book aims to examine the role that innovation has in creating smart cities by focusing on issues such as public transport, use of energy efficiency and sustainability practices. It helps to shed understanding on how cities have become smarter in the way they handle increased migration to urban and rural areas and decrease the strain on public finances.

Review
'Policy and business leaders have been debating the merits of smart cities. This pathbreaking book paves the way in understanding why smart cities are so important and strategies to create smart cities.' ― David B. Audretsch, Distinguished Professor, Indiana University

'This book provides an excellent opportunity to discuss, from different perspectives, the development of cities, under the contemporaneous paradigm of smart cities.

There are a number of issues, associated to the debate over smart cities, such as innovation, economic development, social inclusion, and education, among others. Such dimensions are explored in the book, providing the opportunity to a deep exploration of the different perspectives of smart cities.' ― Vitor Braga, Associate Professor and Head of the Business Sciences Department, Polytechnic of Porto

'Smart cities are an area of increasing interest for policy makers, academics, and industries seeking to meet the demands for related products. This book identifies a range of issues involved, including definitions of the smart city phenomenon and its rise within the context of creativity and culture, knowledge and innovation, entrepreneurship, digital technologies and sustainability. The competitiveness of urban spaces is also an important area discussed, particularly in terms of how territorial capital can be built to assist adjustments from old to new economic structures. Ways in which smart city concepts can be used to overcome social inequalities, improve liveability and community, and deliver public services more effectively are also evaluated. The role of important stakeholders such as entrepreneurial universities, entrepreneurial and urban planning concepts also form key chapters within the book. As such Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Smart Cities allows a broad overview of key issues created by this increasingly important area of research.' ― David Pickernell, Professor of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth

'Cities host entrepreneurial and innovative higher education institutions. This is a critical determinant factor of competitiveness, due to the specialisation and innovation generated both by demand and supply of a highly educated labour force, which encourages city residents to gain qualifications and attract qualified human capital from worldwide locations. Besides this, diversity and close interaction between highly skilled human resources in cities generate even more entrepreneurial and innovative activities. These are some of the multiple cornerstones addressed in this book, which contributes to a better understanding and positioning of several key problems concerning cities, namely, global competitiveness, regional development, innovation systems and multiple helix ecosystems, by integrating innovative dimensions of analysis such as institutional entrepreneurship and urban planning.' ― João Leitão, University of Beira Interior & CEG-IST, University of Lisbon, Portugal

'This book provides a broad overview of smart cities and the role entrepreneurship and innovation play in smart city development. It covers aspects from global competitiveness to regional development, innovation and sustainable entrepreneurship, urban planning and entrepreneurial universities. As such the book provides a comprehensive overview for anyone interested on what a smart city is in relation to entrepreneurship and innovation.' ― Dr Andreea Molnar, Senior Lecturer, School of Creative Technologies, University of Portsmouth

'There is a huge amount of confusion and hyperbole concerning the idea of a ‘smart city’ with the human element often entirely overlooked in favour of infrastructure and hardware models. Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Smart Cities takes a sweeping tour through an extensive range of literatures that help to clarify the processes and dynamics of social smart cities. Vanessa Ratten has authored a formidable compendium of material that provides a thorough overview of the way that current concepts of smartness are being applied in contemporary cities. The book is an essential starting point for any academic, practitioner or policy-maker who wants to better understand the role of humans in making smart social cities.' ― Dr Paul Benneworth, University of Twente, The Netherlands

About the Author
Vanessa Ratten is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Department of Management and Marketing, La Trobe University, Australia.