229. TOWARDS A SMARTER FUTURE: FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE SMART CITY SOLUTIONS (Пат кон попаметна иднина: Рамка на одржливи решенија за паметни градови)

Abstract

Abstract: The concept of smart city has emerged as crucial paradigm for developing efficient and intelligent urban solutions aimed at enhancing the quality of life and fostering sustainable environmental management. While realizing this vision often entails significant challenges related to costs, complexity, and connectivity, this paper introduces an innovative four-tier architecture for smart cities. This framework establishes an ICT infrastructure as its foundational layer, integrating collaborative governance, smart services, and end users. The proposed architecture is fundamentally modular and decentralized, explicitly designed to systematically address key challenges such as security, privacy, and interoperability. It supports a gradual, adaptive implementation, leveraging its inherent flexibility for deployment of smart city services. Furthermore, through illustrative scenarios grounded in existing research, the paper demonstrates the significant potential and inherent robustness of this architecture in achieving substantial operational efficiencies, environmental benefits, and overall improvements in urban living.