INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR MEGACITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF URBANIZATION

A smart planet begins with smart cities. By 2000, the urban population made up 47% of the world's inhabitants. Analysts predict that by 2050, more than 70% of the Earth's population will live in cities, which will undoubtedly lead to an increase in traffic, expansion of building construction, require more efforts in energy resource conservation, environmental protection, and public health, and will increase the need for interaction between government, business, and society.

Today, the efficiency of urban services depends not only on the city's investment in physical infrastructure ("capital in tangible form") but also on the availability and quality of telecommunication channels and social infrastructure (intellectual capital and social capital). This latter form of capital determines the city's competitiveness. This is why the "smart city" model has been introduced as a strategic means of organizing modern urban production factors into a unified structure and drawing attention to the increasingly significant role of information and communication technologies (ICT), social capital, and natural capital in defining urban competitiveness. The importance of these assets—social and natural capital—is what distinguishes "smart" cities from less technologically advanced ones, creating a clear boundary between them and allowing them to be labeled as digital or intelligent cities.