Digitalizing Urban Spaces: A Socio-Technical Approach to Smart & Sustainable Cities (SSC) in Morocco
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Smart Governance: Enhancing city efficiency through ICT infrastructures, integrating public, private, and civil organizations via data-driven systems.
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Smart People: Empowering citizens through skills, education, and inclusive knowledge management to foster innovation and informed decision-making.
This study investigates how municipalities in the Fez-Meknes region (Ifrane, Fez, and Meknes) can adopt a socio-technical approach, balancing technological solutions with social dynamics, rather than relying solely on a techno-deterministic model for Smart City development. To explore this, the project employs a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders—municipalities, residents, private sector, and civil society—are conducted to gather insights into governance processes, data utilization, and citizen involvement. ICT and data analytics are used to map existing infrastructures and data flows, assessing their role in supporting governance while identifying challenges. Participatory action research (PAR) enables local communities to co-create smart solutions, testing them in real urban settings to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. Additionally, comparative case studies of similar Smart City initiatives in the Global South are undertaken to benchmark practices and identify transferable lessons for implementation.
Results are expected to offer a replicable framework for Smart City implementation in the African context, focusing on improving governance, enhancing citizen participation, and promoting sustainable urban growth. These findings will illustrate how the Smart Governance and Smart People dimensions contribute to territorial sustainability and align with the SDGs in the 2030 Agenda, as well as the goals outlined in the African Union's Agenda 2063.