A systematic review of smart city development policies in Chinese cities

Abstract

Urban development plays a vital role in enhancing the productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth of a country. Nowadays, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. By 2050, it is estimated that around 70 percent of the population will live in cities. China is one of the countries with the most rapid urbanization in the world. The first-tier cities comprising Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are the most developed cities in China in terms of infrastructure development and economy. These cities are the major economic, political, and cultural engine of the country as well as role models of urban development for other cities. They are also the first cities in China to apply the smart city concept in urban development. This research focuses primarily on smart city development and policies of the first-tier cities in China. While many research studies on Chinese national-level policies in smart city development, this study is one of the first to explore the policies at the city level. The objectives of the study are to investigate the characteristics and challenges of smart city developments and urban development policies and planning in Chinese first-tier cities, as well as to provide policy recommendations for developing smart cities in other regions and cities in China.

The study employs the methodologies of a systematic review and content analysis. The research articles in CNKI, Wanfang, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, are screened by the PRISMA index. Eighty-four pieces of literature related to the development status of smart cities are included in the study. In addition, 54 smart city policies from China's first-tier cities are taken from the Peking University Law database and coded with the NVIVO software to learn about their strengths and weaknesses from the point of view of policy tools. The result shows that the smart city developments in the first-tier cities cover six smart city dimensions: (1) smart transportation, (2) smart security, (3) smart livelihood, (4) smart education, (5) smart economy, and (6) smart environment. Each city emphasizes the six dimensions differently based on its contexts and characteristics. The city-level policies on smart city development include three policy tools: demand-, supply-, and environmental-based. The result of policy analysis shows that structural imbalance of the policies, such as excess supply-based policy tools, insufficient environmental-oriented policy tools, and a lack of demand-oriented policy tools, can be found in the city-level policies