title: Meta-principles for developing smart, sustainable, and healthy cities.
abstract: Policy directives in several nations are focusing on the development of smart cities, linking innovations in the data sciences with the goal of advancing human well-being and sustainability on a highly urbanized planet. To achieve this goal, smart initiatives must move beyond city-level data to a higher-order understanding of cities as transboundary, multisectoral, multiscalar, social-ecological-infrastructural systems with diverse actors, priorities, and solutions. We identify five key dimensions of cities and present eight principles to focus attention on the systems-level decisions that society faces to transition toward a smart, sustainable, and healthy urban future.
authors.affiliation: Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Anu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramaswami
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0355, USA.
authors.forename: Armistead G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Culligan
authors.affiliation: Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Karnamadakala Rahul
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia Secretariat, New Delhi 110020, India.
authors.forename: Emani
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D004190:Disasters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017753:Ecosystem; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D006802:Human Activities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D014504:Urban Health; D014506:Urban Renewal / Q000379:methods*; D014507:Urbanization