Smart City Actions Integrated into Urban Planning: Management of Urban Environments by Thematic Areas

Over the years, the imbalance between population needs and urban spaces’ organized development has been accentuated by increasing urbanization. The implementation of smart city actions began in the 1990s, with the development of integrated solutions in cities, harmonizing social, environmental, and economic aspects. This research measures the impact of thematic areas on smart cities’ management performance. The multi-criteria Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to identify the interdependent relations between smart cities’ thematic areas, structuring a diagram of cause-and-effect relations using threshold quantification values. Considering their degree of importance in smart city management, the thematic areas of technology and innovation, living environment and infrastructure, education and training, and governance and engagement are highlighted. For the degree of influence, the most influential thematic areas are coexistence and reciprocity, living environment and infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and healthcare. Also, the cause-and-effect analysis identified governance and engagement, education and training, and mobility as central thematic areas for smart city management. Finally, the research construct was developed by ranking the thematic areas’ performance in urban space planning.