Smart Cities in Poland: Towards Sustainability and a Better Quality of Life?

This book considers and examines the concept of a Smart City in the context of improving the quality of life and sustainable development in Central and Eastern European cities.

The Smart City concept has been gaining popularity in recent years, with supporters considering it to be an effective tool to improve the quality of life of the city’s residents. In turn, opponents argue that it is a source of imbalance and claim that it escalates the problems of social and economic exclusion. This book, therefore, assesses the quality of life and its unsustainability in Central and Eastern European cities within the context of the Smart City concept and from the perspective of key areas of sustainable development. Using case studies of selected cities in Central and Eastern Europe and representative surveysof Polish cities, this book illustrates the process of creating smart cities and their impact on improving the quality of life of citizens. Specifically, this book investigates the conditions that a Smart City has to meet to become sustainable, how the Smart City concept can support the improvement of the residents’ quality of life and how Central and Eastern European countries create smartcity solutions.

Containing both theoretical and practical content, this book will be of relevance to researchers and students interested in smart cities and urban planning, as well as city authorities and city stakeholders who are planning to implement the Smart City concept.

Izabela Jonek-Kowalska is a full professor at the Department of Economics and Computer Sciences at the Silesian University of Technology (Poland). For over 20 years she has been dealing with the economics of business entities, including city management and finances. Her output includes over 300 publications at national and international publishers, as well as many undertakings and projects implemented in cooperation with the business environment.

Scientific interests: economics of business entities; business finance; Smart City; mineral economics; risk management; value management.

Radoslaw Wolniak is a full professor at the Department of Economics and Computer Sciences at the Silesian University of Technology (Poland). For over 20 years he has been dealing with the issues of quality management, including the quality of life. His achievements include over 500 publications issued at national and international publishers, as well as many undertakings and projects implemented in cooperation with the business environment.

Scientific interests: quality management, quality of life; Smart City; Industry 4.0, methods of quality management, the problems of peoples with disability in public management.