%X The media often depicts major information and technology (ICT) firms, such as IBM, Google, and Cisco, as the principal driving forces of smart city development. However, we argue that traditional urban development actors, such as real estate developers and national and local governments, play larger roles. ICT firms have limitations as leaders of major smart city development because of two important factors: 1) financially, the ICT budget is merely a small portion of the total greenfield smart city development budget, and 2) the ICT product lifespans are much shorter than that of the built environment. We explain how these two issues cause several practical problems that are obstacles to ICT firms taking charge of major smart city development. To this end, we refer to findings from an in-depth case study of the Songdo International Business District, which some have dubbed “the world’s first smart city,” allegedly built by Cisco.
%O This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
%I Bellwether
%K Smart city, Songdo international business district, South Korea, building provision structure, role of developer
%J Eurasian Geography and Economics
%L discovery10176718
%D 2023
%T Who built the "world's first smart city" of Songdo? Questioning the ICT firms' Leadership in Smart City Development
%A Jeongwha Huh
%A Jung Won Son
%A Yang Zhao
%A Seongwon Yang