Smart City Projects Assessment Matrix: Connecting Challenges and Actions in the Mediterranean Region

Concerns in bridging the gap between theoretical approaches and reality are arising in regards to Smart City implementation. Even if the importance of a holistic approach in the Smart City is increasing, the concept is being implemented and financed through projects. Furthermore, there are difficulties in adapting a concept that was developed for advanced economies to other countries or regions. Despite the fact that several assessment methodologies in the field are being developed, they are not focused on reducing these gaps. Therefore, there is a need for specific methodologies to assess Smart City Projects, with understanding of the specific challenges that cities in different Regions face. The combination of best practice-analysis and experts? review led to the development of a taxonomy of Smart City Projects, organized into 118 Project Actions, 36 areas and 6 dimensions. This paper proposes a methodology for interrelating Smart City Projects and urban challenges for a specific region. In application, it focuses on the South and East-Mediterranean Region, where cities have specific needs that have not been addressed by other methodologies. Literature review and validation through focus groups led to the identification of 27 of specific challenges for the cities in this region. Relationships are established between these projects and challenges in order to evaluate the different projects? potential for action. A Smart City Projects Assessment Matrix (SC[PAM]) is proposed as a tool for evaluating the interactions among urban challenges and Smart City Projects regarding the particularities of the selected region. The SC[PAM] can be applied at 3 different scales: Project, City and Region. At the Project level, the RFID card in Amman (Jordan) was used as an example to explain how the SC[PAM] works. Furthermore, at a Regional level, guidelines for the development of Smart City Projects in the Region were identified