Linking Urban Regeneration to Sustainable Urban Development of Smart Cities

Urban regeneration involves the revitalisation of distressed urban areas, through actions such as rehabilitation of historic areas, improvement of living conditions in residential districts, redevelopment of public spaces, and modernisation of urban infrastructure (Alpopi & Manole, 2013). The label 'smart city' has an impact on urban strategies in both large and small towns. It helps to face the increasing problems of urban areas, local public government, companies, non-profit organisations, and the citizens themselves. They all embraced the idea of a smarter city, using more technologies, creating better life conditions and safeguarding the environment for a better quality of life (Dameri & Rosenthal-Sabroux, 2014). This research focuses on adopting an inductive methodology of sustainable urban development in smart cities through a specific framework to be applied on the urban regeneration of city centres in cities with historical background. This will be carried out through the analysis of the interrelationship between the key principles of both urban regeneration and smart cities with the aim to compile a comprehensive list ofprinciples. This inductive methodology will be validated through a comparative study of selected relevant examples. After that the development framework will be used to apply the compiled ideas and principles, and to verify its potential to formulate multiple scenarios of urban regeneration of city centres. After that, the scenarios of development will be tested on a case study of the city of Alexandria in Egypt, by using multiple research methods such as focused interviews, structured questionnaires, personal observation and assessment. This study aims to conclude with a set of guidelines for intervention in similar urbancontexts in general, as well as in the specific case of Alexandria with its particular conditions