Human Factors Impact on Smart Cities Construction: The Case of Lisbon City and Dwelling Suburbs

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the need to humanise smart urban environment by improving human interactions to a qualified user experience. Numerous municipalities of Portugal aim for smart and sustainable solutions, making available equipment and services and encouraging people appropriation of the urban space. Lisbon emerge as a smart place, displaying samples of sustainable, economic, social and cultural dimensions. Municipalities near important city centres, preserve a traditional model featured by careless urban design solutions, where commuting possibilities and proximity of areas of interest are the main assets. Despite the innovative and creative solutions supported by ICT, the traditional model with its intrinsic fragilities is still a common practice, framing technical developments and possibilities, the sense of place identity, user belonging and user qualified experience. A new approach to urban planning is needed to empower the place, the context and the users, where creative solutions support smart, sustainable and inclusive communities.