Smart Cities, Local Community and Socioeconomic Development: The Case of Bologna

Abstract

This chapter investigates the metropolitan area of Bologna, Italy, aiming at understanding how the enforcement of a smart economy affects smart cities, and brings to social and cultural development. We especially focus on such as smart economy key factors, inter-linkages between smart economy and social development, cultural preservation, heritage conservation, and ecological management. Data analysis shows that smart initiatives do not guarantee any economic growth, especially in a context of economic and financial crisis. A good digital infrastructure can facilitate the circulation of information and offer new opportunities to economy and society, but it is not enough. We have observed that the traditional, local social structure, funded on cooperation, may rather represent a very interesting starting point toward a new peer-to-peer organization of economy and society. Notwithstanding, traditional social structures badly need an infrastructural update in order to effectively enforce new socioeconomic strategies.