Exploring sustainable considerations of smart cities in developing countries: The case study of Kumasi city.
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Date
2021-05-14
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Abstract
The acclivitous increment in the population of the world comes with its own immense
challenges. Cities must be smart and sustainable, particularly now where more than half
of human dwellings have become urbanised. Smart city, the concept of improving urban
structures with ICTs, intelligence and technologies is appreciated in developed
economies, but its formation in developing countries is barely taking roots. Hence, as the
concept is well-appraised to be of enormous benefits to city conurbations, examining it
in the context of sustainability will provide prima facie of how smart cities could solve
urbanisation problems while ensuring sustainable development. The purpose of this study
therefore was to explore the sustainable considerations of smart city formation in
developing countries, by using Kumasi City as a case study. Adopting the pragmatic
research philosophy which informs the use of either a qualitative, quantitative or both
research approaches, purposive sampling technique was used to reach the target
population of this study. A total of seventy-six research questionnaires were retrieved
from the survey, and adopting descriptive statistics, relative importance index, mean score
ranking, one-sample t-test and principal component factor analysis, the several parts of
the questionnaires were strategically analysed. The reliability of the scale and internal
consistency of the variables were checked by using the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient test.
In an effort to achieve the objectives of the study, it became imperative to first determine
the smartness level of Kumasi city. Borrowing the six dimensions of smart cities
formation from Giffinger et al.’s studies and identifying independent variables which
explains each dimension; respondents and experts were allowed to rank the various
variables in the determination of the smartness level of Kumasi city. After subjecting the
retrieved data to mean score ranking and relating the findings to the formulated smartness
box, it was concluded that Kumasi City is a substantial smart city, and has not attained
the smart city level yet. Therefore, the study went on to determine the key sustainable
development factors of smart city formation in developing countries. After using one sample t-test, it was concluded that there were enough evidence to support the claim that
the independent variable which explains the key sustainable development factors of smart
cities, for instance, improving recyclable and reusable water treatment systems, adopting
renewable energy sources, providing good, quality and affordable education and training
for all etc. were all drawn from a population such that the population mean was not equal
to the hypothesised mean of 3.5. Using relative importance index, the militating factors
of sustainable development of smart cities were analysed. It was determined that lack of
preparedness on the side of government, financial inclusiveness of the concept and lack
of practical application of some of the smart city concepts were the main challenges to
the formation, upscaling and sustainable development of smart cities. Adopting principal
component factor analysis in determining the critical success factors of sustainable
development of smart cities, four main components were extracted which explained
67.927% of the total variance in this dimension. The key findings of the study led to the
formulation of a conceptual framework for improving smartness and sustainability of
developing countries’ cities. In conclusion, the study recommended that government
should be prepared and ready, they should set up the requisite policies, make provisions
for any financial implications, prioritize increasing the smartness of people as its main
agenda, incorporate sustainable principles from the onset and provide the necessary
measures to ensure the formation of sustainable smart cities in developing countries.
Description
A Master’s thesis submitted to the Department of Construction Technology and Management, College of Art and Built Environment in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science.
Keywords
Cities, Dimensions, Ghana, ICTs, Smart City, Sustainable Development,, Urbanisation