The u-City Index: Integrated planplementation of future ubiquitous cities

Evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has affected cities, government, and all type of organizations. Their adaptation is necessary for becoming competitive in a networked world. However, the pace of ICT evolution is faster than the speed of adaptation to these changes, and this difference (organizational lag) causes problems to civil servants and managers at all levels, customers and citizens (digital divide). The complexity and dynamism of city dimensions adds uncertainty and difficulty in understanding how to deal with diverse urban problems. This is a dilemma that city managers have faced since the 1990’s with the rise of the Internet and that will become more complex with the rise of ubiquitous computing: u-Cities. Therefore this paper analyses issues surrounding the development of digital cities and the future u-City concept and proposes the requirements of an integrative framework, the u-City Index, for long term planning, implementation and monitoring. Grounded theory is used as main approach for gathering, analyzing and categorizing academic articles and reports to identify the requirements and form a propositional framework based on literature and previous empirical research. Moreover, international research background (500 ICT initiatives and projects), helped with additional insights on understanding and structuring digital cities and u-cities, their organizations and ICT initiatives. The study moves away from Jane Fountain (2001) technology enactment framework and extends it to a multi-organisation, multi-functional and multidimensional perspective. Additionally, the requirements will help in defining a model or framework that can be used as a tool for benchmarking by city managers and policy makers.