Analysing smartness in European cities: A factor analysis based on resource efficiency, transportation and ICT

The interest in smart cities has been growing steadily in recent years; however, there are few examples of analyses, which take into account, at the same time, multiple socio-demographic variables, economic variables and smart city characteristics. In our study, we took into account different types of socio-demographic and economic variables and smart city characteristics of 63 European cities. Data were analysed using a factor analysis. Results suggest that there is no correlation between city size and smart city characteristics and no correlation between economic wealth and smart city characteristics. Our investigation highlighted shared features between top-ranking cities in terms of smartness in the same countries. The results presented in this study could be used to better delineate a strategic agenda for European cities allowing decision makers to address challenges for smarter urban development.