Smart City: A Critical Assessment

The following volume is the first testimony of a multidisciplinary collective work focused on the topic of the Smart City from both scientific and operational points of view. The intention is not to passively assess the topic but rather subject it to criticism in order to relaunch its current and productive aspects, also updating its terminology. The reflection on the terminology, which in the text takes the form of a reasoned glossary, does not derive from requirements of pure philology but rather aims to make the discussion among the disciplines more grounded and specific in order to build a field of research-action with a wide spectrum of skills involving the various actors—specialists and otherwise— that have an interest in the topic. On the one hand, an effort to reunite the current narrative of the Smart City and its variations (Wise City, Wise Town, Care City, 15 Minute City, etc.), and on the other the real city, no less elusive in its persistence and transformation with powerful accelerations such as the one triggered by the pandemic.