Smart cities, urban technocrats, epistemic communities, advocacy coalitions and the ‘last mile’ problem

We argue that the ideas, ideals and the rapid proliferation of smart city rhetoric and initiatives globally have been facilitated and promoted by three interrelated communities: (i) ‘urban technocrats’; (ii) a smart cities ‘epistemic community’; (iii) a wider ‘advocacy coalition’. We examine their roles and the multiscale formation, and why despite their influence they encounter a ‘last mile problem’; that is, smart city initiatives are yet to become fully mainstreamed. We illustrate this last mile problem through a discussion of plans to introduce smart lighting in Dublin.