Smart Places: Towards a Smart Urban Transformation

Smart Places: Towards a Smart Urban Transformation

In a global context where technology, sustainability, and quality of life are key elements of urban development, the concept of the Smart Place emerges. This notion extends beyond the well-known Smart City, focusing not only on the city as a whole, but also on specific spaces (neighborhoods, parks, buildings, cultural centers, or commercial areas) that integrate digital technologies, smart urban design, citizen participation, and sustainability to improve the experience of those who inhabit, visit, or transit them (Townsend, 2013).

What is a Smart Place?

A Smart Place is a physical environment that uses digital technologies, sensors, data platforms, and connected infrastructure to offer more efficient services, improve people’s lives, foster innovation, and promote sustainability (Bakıcı, Almirall, & Wareham, 2013). Unlike the smart city, which operates at a macro level, the smart place operates at a human scale, promoting direct interaction between space, technology, and people.

The essence of a Smart Place lies in the integration of technological infrastructure with urban planning, user-centered design, and community engagement. It is a space that not only “thinks” through data, but also “feels” and adapts to the needs of the environment and its users (Townsend, 2013). Furthermore, these spaces function as platforms for civic innovation, where technology does not replace the human, but rather amplifies it (Aurigi & De Cindio, 2020).

Some key characteristics of a Smart Place

1. Connectivity and digital infrastructure: It uses technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, 5G networks, and open data platforms to monitor and manage services such as lighting, security, mobility, energy, and space use (UN-Habitat, 2016).

2. User-centered design: The citizen experience is fundamental. The space is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and stimulating.

3. Environmental sustainability: Green solutions such as solar energy, rainwater harvesting, smart green areas, and clean mobility are applied.

4. Human-technology interaction: Technologies such as interactive displays, augmented reality, smart signage, and mobile apps are integrated.

5. Data-driven decision-making: Sensors enable real-time monitoring to adapt site behavior based on time of day, population density, or weather (Bakıcı et al., 2013).

6. Participatory governance: Involves the community in the design, evaluation, and improvement of services, fostering ownership of the space (Rodríguez Bolívar, 2015).

Notable international examples Some examples illustrate how these spaces have transformed cities:

• Songdo, South Korea: A city built from the ground up, with ubiquitous sensors, automated waste collection, real-time traffic monitoring, and smart home technologies (Townsend, 2013).

• 22@ District in Barcelona: An urban regeneration project that combines housing, creative industries, and ICTs. It features technological infrastructure and open data to optimize services (Bakıcı et al., 2013).

• Hudson Yards, New York: A mixed-use development that uses environmental quality sensors, geothermal energy, smart buildings, and predictive analytics for urban services (UN-Habitat, 2016). This project has been cited as a prototype for a high-density, high-value-added smart place for the economic environment (Anthopoulos, 2017).

• Santander, Spain: The city has become an urban laboratory with more than 20,000 sensors to monitor traffic, noise, air quality, and manage urban services.

• Barcelona, ​​Spain: Through the “Superblocks” project, the city has redefined urban neighborhoods with pedestrian mobility, noise and air quality sensors, and citizen participation platforms.

• Medellín, Colombia: A self-diagnosis model that allows for identifying the current situation of a territorial entity in relation to the dimensions of quality of life, habitat, environment, economic development, governance, and people, in order to identify areas for action through smart city initiatives and improve government efficiency and the quality of life of its inhabitants (Government of Colombia, 2025). The development of technology for a Smart District with projects such as: Digital Twins for monitoring and analyzing the environment, mobility, and demographics; UrbanIA, a data science platform for territorial development modeling and planning; and Ciudadano 360, a platform based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to personalize administrative services and improve citizen-government relations (Radio Caracol, 2025).