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Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 54300

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Anna Visvizi

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Guest Editor

1. Institute of International Studies (ISM), SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland
2. Effat College of Business, Effat University, Jeddah 21551, Saudi Arabia
Interests: smart cities; smart villages; international political economy (IPE); information and communication technology (ICT)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Several issues, processes, and developments shape the context in which smart cities and smart villages—and thus, also the corresponding research agenda and policy-making process—pragmatize. The frame for these developments is most profoundly shaped by the imperatives entailed in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, in the set of the UN-driven “AI for Good” initiatives, and, in the broader sense, by the global digital transformation that sweeps across diverse issues, levels, and domains of the social reality and the policy-making process.

Against this backdrop, this Special Issue (SI) of Sustainability will focus on the most recent advances in smart cities and smart villages research to encourage, nourish, and promote the development of strategies conducive to smart cities’/villages’ sustainable growth and development in times of the global digital transformation. The key objectives of this SI are (i) to examine how advances in sophisticated information and communication technology (ICT) broaden the range of opportunities to develop sustainable development strategies for smart cities and smart villages at local, regional, and global levels and across issue areas; (ii) to identify the ways, methods, and strategies by means of which a variety of stakeholders (can) engage in the processes of co-creating and making smart cities and smart villages thrive, and how ICT weighs in these processes; (iii) to reflect on and to add to the interpretive lens and explanatory potential that are offered by the existing literature on the subject; (iv) to query whether best practice sharing and specific business and policy strategies might be helpful in boosting smart cities’ and smart villages’ sustainability and development.

Prof. Dr. Anna Visvizi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

global digital transformation and smart cities research
global digital transformation and smart villages research
“AI for good” and smart city/smart village development
smart city/villages and the UN’s SDGs
ICT and community engagement in smart city/village development
ICT and the digital transition of cities/villages into smart city/smart village
challenges, caveats and problems relating to smart cities/villages development and functioning
smart cities/villages in the era of platform economy
smart cities/villages, competitiveness and economic growth
ICT and the provision services in smart cities/villages, e.g. healthcare, education, etc.
energy communities and smart cities/villages
data cooperatives and smart cities/villages
smart city strategy and community enegagement
smart village and community engagement
services provision and community engagement in smart city/village context
smart cities/villages in the Global South/North contexts
smart cities, smart communities in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic

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Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement—2nd Edition in Sustainability (5 articles)

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Research

17 pages, 1735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Citizen-Centric Governance: Enhancing Citizen Engagement through Artificial Intelligence Tools

by Marius Pislaru, Ciprian Sorin Vlad, Larisa Ivascu and Iulia Ioana Mircea

Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2686; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072686 - 25 Mar 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4252

Abstract

The public sector presents important steps for digital transformation. Digital transformation uses a series of tools and methods to improve the relationship with citizens and improve benefits. This paper explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in governance processes and provides public institutions with insight regarding the impact of integrating chatbot communication tools when interacting with citizens. The present research provides an analysis of the socio-economic factors that determine the use of artificial intelligence tools, i.e., the propensity to interact more with the public administration as a result of improved communication through virtual assistants, and highlights the implications of AI in improving services towards civil society by determining the degree of satisfaction on aspects such as reduced waiting times in queues, access to information regardless of the traditional working hours of civil servants, quicker execution of operations, et al. The results, derived from an analysis of 507 sets of responses obtained from an online questionnaire, indicate that a number of variables, such as residential environment, employment status, household income and education level, significantly impact the effectiveness of artificial intelligence in mediating citizen communication with government. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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19 pages, 6568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Artificial Intelligence Evaluates How Humans Connect to the Built Environment: A Pilot Study of Two Experiments in Biophilia

by Tobias M. Ramm, Mathias Werwie, Tim Otto, Peter A. Gloor and Nikos A. Salingaros

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 868; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020868 - 19 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2130

Abstract

Many factors influence well-being and health in everyday life. While people are aware of traffic delays or continuous work stress, other factors influence the state of the body on a subconscious level. The built environment subconsciously influences human physiology during every second of life, which has a cumulative long-term effect. The idea of biophilic design identifies the importance of natural elements implemented in architectural structures to improve the occupants’ health and well-being. This paper measures the impact of biophilic design on positive emotions and productivity in two separate but conceptually related pilot studies that apply novel approaches: (a) facial emotion recognition (FER) with residual masking networks and (b) sentiment detection using Large Language Models. The first study measures the emotions of people when confronted with images of different kinds of architecture, via FER and via a user survey. We find clear trends for emotions detected by FER and significant evidence for self-stated emotions that architecture implementing biophilic design evokes more positive emotions. The second study measures the influence of natural elements on productivity and team engagement. The findings show that natural elements in the surroundings do influence productivity and sentiment positively. As the sample size of subjects, especially for the second study, was relatively small, future research will need to apply these ideas in a larger setup to acquire further evidence for the importance of biophilic design for human well-being and health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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23 pages, 573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Building Participative E-Governance in Smart Cities: Moderating Role of Institutional and Technological Innovation

by Seunghwan Myeong and Syed Asad Abbas Bokhari

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 15075; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015075 - 19 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2996

Abstract

The successful implementation of institutional and technological innovation is critical for the effective execution of e-governance in smart cities. This study examines the inherent complexity associated with institutional and technological innovation in the context of smart cities. The capability of a municipality to cultivate innovation is significantly dependent on the implementation of its technological infrastructure and institutional competence. This study aims to contribute to the existing literature on the relationship between e-governance in smart cities and stakeholder satisfaction. It highlights that institutional and technological innovation could mediate these interactions. Data were collected by administering a questionnaire to a sample of 589 individuals from the Republic of Korea and Pakistan to develop multiple regression models. This study employs stakeholder and innovation theories to investigate the relationship between e-governance and stakeholder satisfaction, emphasizing the moderating effects of institutional and technological innovation. The linear multiple regression analysis findings indicate that e-governance, institutional innovation, and technological factors statistically influence stakeholder satisfaction. It was also discovered that the presence of institutional and technological innovation moderates the association between e-governance and stakeholder satisfaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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19 pages, 820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Urban (Living) Labs: A Model Tailored for Central and Eastern Europe’s Context

by Bartosz Piziak, Magdalena Bień, Wojciech Jarczewski and Katarzyna Ner

Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12556; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612556 - 18 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1269

Abstract

The article attempts to synthesise existing knowledge and research related to the functioning of urban (living) labs and to analyse the particular experiences of their dozens of representatives from all over the world in order to develop a definition and model of an urban lab adapted to the conditions of Central and Eastern European countries. The lack of a systematised definition concerning functioning urban labs has influenced the development of a single, possibly precise definition of an urban lab, adapted to the socio-economic conditions of CEE countries. On the basis of a systematic review of the literature on the subject and a questionnaire survey of 24 urban labs from different countries of the world regarding their functioning, an attempt was made to develop an integrated model of an urban lab, taking into account elements such as stakeholder groups, thematic areas of activities, or stages of the design process, among others. The various definitions and typologies of urban (living) labs presented in this article, as well as the different approaches to their operation in many countries, indicate what an elaborate and heterogeneous tool they are. Despite the noticeable differences, their overarching goal of operation is invariably to improve the quality of life of city dwellers, taking into account the interests of different audiences. The growing interest in urban labs is reflected in the increasing number of publications on the subject of their functioning and the rising number of ”urban lab” initiatives, which influences the larger number of cities considering their implementation. So far, this tool has not been used in Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, which led the authors of this study to develop the concept of an urban lab (2018/2019), based on which a pilot project was implemented in two Polish cities between 2019 and 2021. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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23 pages, 3903 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Smart Rural Communities: Action Research in Colombia and Mozambique

by Igor Calzada

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9521; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129521 - 14 Jun 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5178

Abstract

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion on rural development programs aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South. The research question examines how the Smart Rural Communities (SRC) framework can support the SDGs as an international cooperation model. The article presents findings from fieldwork action research including a critical analysis of the hegemonic discourse on smart cities and provides final recommendations. Additionally, it introduces the concept of SRC. The fieldwork action research was conducted in post-conflict rural areas in Colombia’s Bolivar region and remote settlements in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. Led by Ayuda En Acción in collaboration with co-operatives such as Mundukide Foundation, Alecop, and LKS from Mondragon Co-operative Corporation, these interventions aimed to engage local communities through Living Labs. They utilized Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and social innovation to promote the well-being of rural residents. The article comprises (i) an introduction; (ii) a literature review; (iii) a presentation of the fieldwork action research in Colombia and Mozambique; (iv) findings from a SWOT analysis and policy recommendations for SRC Living Labs; (v) conclusions addressing the research question. The SRC framework offers valuable insights for international cooperation models striving to achieve the SDGs in the Global South. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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16 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Global Whitewashing of Smart Cities: Citizens’ Perspectives

by Ibrahim Mutambik

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8100; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108100 - 16 May 2023

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2254

Abstract

Today, smart cities offer many significant benefits. As a result, the smart city is usually described in highly benign terms, and it is often uncritically assumed that its implementation must lead to widescale improvements, at all levels of society. Yet, while smart cities undoubtedly offer advantages, they also carry associated risks and dangers which could outweigh the benefits. This raises the important question of to which extent the ordinary citizen is aware of these risks and dangers. This study sets out to examine this question. While the ‘downsides’ of smart cities have been the subject of research over the past few years, there have been no studies which explore the perception of smart city disadvantages among citizen-stakeholders in the GCC countries. This study seeks to fill this gap in the literature, by examining the perspectives of a representative sample of citizens from the GCC. The results show that, despite the ‘whitewashing’ effect of public messaging, the study’s participants have a range of significant concerns about smart cities which could affect their acceptance of such initiatives. The findings will inform smart city development bodies in the GCC and contribute to strategies for promoting smart cities and citizen engagement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

18 pages, 2237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coupling and Coordination between Digital Economy and Urban–Rural Integration in China

by Jiacheng Man, Jianxu Liu, Baomin Cui, Yuanqing Sun and Songsak Sriboonchitta

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7299; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097299 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2358

Abstract

The positive interaction between digital economy development and urban–rural relationship adjustment can both expand the contribution of technological factors and enhance the balance of urban–rural development. This paper aims to explore the trends and barriers to the coupled and coordinated development of the digital economy and urban–rural integration. This paper measures the degree of coupled coordination between the digital economy and urban–rural integration based on provincial panel data from 2013 to 2020 in China. Based on this, this paper investigates the characteristics and driving forces of the coupled coordination relationship through the chronological evolution method and geographically weighted regression. The results show that (1) the coupling relationship between the digital economy and urban–rural integration has improved substantially in Chinese provinces; (2) heterogeneity still exists at the provincial level; (3) this relationship is expected to be optimized over time; and (4) information construction, rational distribution, balanced growth, equalization of public services and digital-industry development does have a positive effect on the improvement of the coupled coordination relationship, and the popularity of the internet has a negative effect. Accordingly, this paper mainly draws the following conclusions. The coupling relationship between the digital economy and urban–rural integration in the Chinese provinces shows a tendency to be more coordinated. It is necessary to promote the development of the five positive drivers and to guide and regulate the negative drivers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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23 pages, 3448 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Smart Cities and Households’ Recyclable Waste Management: The Case of Jeddah

by Kawther Saeedi, Anna Visvizi, Dimah Alahmadi and Amal Babour

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6776; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086776 - 17 Apr 2023

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3763

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has recorded rapid economic growth and development rates matched by corresponding levels of consumption. This has led to an exponential increase in the volume of municipal solid waste. Even if the bulk share of this waste is recyclable, the propensity of households to engage in the recycling of waste has so far produced a negligible effect. Arguably, in the context of the pervasive digitalization of public and private spaces, accompanied by the developments in information and communication technology (ICT), best conceptualized by reference to the concepts of smart cities and circular economy, it is natural to expect ICT and policy objectives to converge in order to encourage and enable greater engagement with waste segregation and recycling amongst households. Against this backdrop, this paper explores the feasibility and ways of increasing households’ participation in recyclable waste collection, segregation, and disposal in a context devoid of a top-down city-level waste management policy. To this end, the design thinking approach was employed to identify factors inhibiting/facilitating households’ engaging in recycling. A variety of ideation techniques were adopted in subsequent stages of the design thinking process, including interviews with stakeholders from the government and industry sectors, surveys with Jeddah households (N = 446), an eight week-long recyclable waste collection experiment, and feedback surveys (N = 46). The results suggest that applying relatively simple and resource-savvy tools aimed at promoting household recyclable waste collection has substantial potential. This, in turn, not only feeds into the debate on smart cities but also into the research of public policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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29 pages, 13820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Traditional Villages and Influence Factors Thereof in Hilly and Gully Areas of Northern Shaanxi

by Bingqian Li, Jun Wang and Yibing Jin

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215327 - 18 Nov 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2460

Abstract

In recent traditional village studies, spatial distribution characteristics have gained importance as a basis for rural revitalization and holistic protection; however, the total number of such studies remains small, and these studies do not account for the specific geographical area of China’s Loess Plateau. Contributing to recent efforts, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution characteristics of the traditional villages in the hilly and gully areas of northern Shaanxi and to link their distribution patterns to the conservation and development of the traditional villages. ArcGIS and GeoDetector software were used to analyze the correlation between the village distribution characteristics and the influencing factors, as well as the differences in the influence of each factor. The research results show the following: (1) The traditional villages in the hilly and gully areas of northern Shaanxi present an uneven agglomeration distribution. The Mizhi, Suide, and Jiaxian areas are the main core agglomeration areas, and Yanchuan is a secondary core agglomeration area. An outward radiation forms with the “dual-core” as a center. (2) The spatial distribution of the traditional villages is positively correlated with slope, average annual temperature, solar radiation, and population density and is negatively correlated with the distance from a river and the GDP per capita; it has a median distribution for elevation, aspect, terrain undulation, and rainfall, and the distribution of the urbanization rate fluctuates. (3) The factor detection results of GeoDetector showed that the socio-economic factors had the strongest influence, followed by the climatic factors. The influence of the geographical factors was weak; the interaction between the influencing factors was enhanced, and the interaction between the population density and the climatic factors was the most obvious. (4) In terms of the influence mechanism, this study supports the claim that “natural environmental factors are the basis for the formation of traditional villages, and socio-economic factors determine the direction of development”. However, it is worth noting that the unique natural and human characteristics of the hilly and gully areas of northern Shaanxi are the fundamental reasons for the differences in the spatial distribution compared to the other regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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18 pages, 1528 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exclusion and Cooperation of the Urban Poor Outside the Institutional Framework of the Smart City: A Case of Seoul

by Kon Kim

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13159; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013159 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2755

Abstract

Although information and communication technology (ICT) has recently revolutionized human settlements, its allocation and availability have not been evenly distributed globally. Consequently, the urban poor have often been excluded from government-driven smart city projects due to their inability to access and utilize ICT. Instead, the urban poor have attempted to forge an alternative smart city-making pathway outside institutions, in collaboration with radical social groups. Thus, this article examines the nature of the development of poor urban communities in their alternative smart city-related practices by exploring changing power dynamics and social infrastructure across the boundaries of smart city institutions. The case study of Seoul demonstrates that the urban poor can build a unique social infrastructure through radical intermediary intervention, which can improve their communal autonomy and construct a self-governing system, albeit within constraints. This article also argues that radical organizational transition can deprive these populations of opportunities to engage in various smart city-related practices, particularly those driven by the public and private sectors with speculative motives, while little or no qualitative growth of their communal autonomy has occurred within the institutional framework. Therefore, this article criticizes the double-edged ambivalence of the alternative smart city-making pathway for the urban poor, where their right to the smart city remains unachieved, despite their radical approach contributing to genuinely humanizing smart urbanism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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16 pages, 823 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Smart Rural Village’s Healthcare and Energy Indicators—Twin Enablers to Smart Rural Life

by Pontsho William Maja, Johan Meyer and Suné von Solms

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12466; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912466 - 30 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2531

Abstract

Poverty in rural areas remains rife and high despite the rapid societal developments and technological advancements the world is riding on, brought about by the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Most communities and individuals in many rural areas of the world often face near zero to limited access to basic services such as access to energy and healthcare. The study’s objective is to develop linkages between smart rural health indicators and smart rural energy indicators. This is achieved by using a six-stage method developed over a two year period. The method uses sustainable development goals as a point of departure; however, in this study, the focus is on healthcare and energy access. The following indicators has been derived: the number of patients in a village monitored remotely, the number of persons having access to a mobile health clinic powered by a renewable energy source, the number of network routers powered by renewable energy to enable drone usage in a village, and the accessibility of a patient’s database by the village surgeon remotely due to reliable and accessible servers powered by a mixture of sustainable and renewable energy. The paper concludes that a sustainable, renewable energy mix acts as the enabling link that renders healthcare services in rural villages accessible to all. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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33 pages, 76252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dashboard as a Platform for Community Engagement in a City Development—A Review of Techniques, Tools and Methods

by Joanna Pluto-Kossakowska, Anna Fijałkowska, Małgorzata Denis, Joanna Jaroszewicz and Sylwia Krzysztofowicz

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10809; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710809 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3621

Abstract

A city should be planned to provide an appropriate amount and quality of public spaces, services, and mobility for any life activity. For citizens to be actively involved in improving the quality of the space around them and thus participate in shaping the place they live in, they need knowledge about the city and its strengths and weaknesses. They need access to data about the city in an easy-to-use and interpretable form through specific tools. An example is indicators, which present data about the city in different categories important for city development. Excellent tools for transferring information between a city and its citizens are new web-based solutions such as dashboards. This article reviews selected dashboards in terms of their thematic scope, the number of indicators presented, data sources and tools for data analysis and visualization. In the discussion, the main problems related to data publication, analytical tools and cartographic presentation are identified. The recommendations propose two dashboard models: simple and complex, depending on the purpose and needs of the user. Comparing the values of indicators in different areas of the city can contribute to increased active participation of residents and their involvement in decision making about their surroundings. A review of dashboards showed little use of the potential of IT and geo-analytical tools in building a real dialog with residents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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24 pages, 8672 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geographical Distribution Characteristics of Ethnic-Minority Villages in Fujian and Their Relationship with Topographic Factors

by Xiang Xu, Paolo Vincenzo Genovese, Yafei Zhao, Yidan Liu, Eyasu Markos Woldesemayat and Abraham Nathan Zoure

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7727; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137727 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2529

Abstract

The geographical distribution characteristics of villages characterised by ethnic minorities are determined by the selection of the site when the village was initially established. The location of inherited and well-preserved minority villages must be exceptionally compatible with the natural terrain, with a logical relationship. Nonetheless, the issue of village location, which is directly related to the development of the features of the geographical distribution, has received little attention from scholars. The average nearest proximity index, Voronoi, kernel density analysis, proximity analysis, and the Geographical Detector (GeoDetector) were used to analyse the geographic distribution characteristics of villages and their correlation with terrain, as well as the difference between the influence of each terrain factor. The findings indicated the following. (1) The geographical distribution of minority villages in Fujian Province is of the agglomeration type, with a significant “mononuclear” feature, and the topography has a facilitating effect on the clustering distribution of villages. (2) The geographical distribution of minority villages in each city of Fujian Province coexisted with the agglomeration type and the dispersion type, and the role of topography in promoting the agglomeration-type distribution of villages was not affected by the distribution density of villages. (3) The site selection of Fujian-minority villages is characterised by medium altitude, moderate slope, sun exposure, and no obvious hydrophilicity. Minority villages are mainly located in areas with an elevation of 202–647 m; a slope of 6–15°; a flat land aspect with a south slope, southeast slope, or southwest slope; and distance of 500–1500 m from 5–20 m wide rivers of level 2. (4) The site selection of Fujian minority villages is influenced by various topographic factors, such as elevation, slope, aspect, river buffer, river width, and river level, among which river width has the most substantial effect. (5) All topographic factors have a two-factor enhancing relationship with each other, aspect and slope have the most substantial effect and play a dominant role in site selection. The research findings illuminate the internal logic of the geographical distribution differentiation of villages characterised by ethnic minorities, which is critical for promoting the protection of modern ethnic-minority villages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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13 pages, 2883 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Accident Detection and Classification System Using Internet of Things and Machine Learning towards Smart City

by Mohammed Balfaqih, Soltan Abed Alharbi, Moutaz Alzain, Faisal Alqurashi and Saif Almilad

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010210 - 26 Dec 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 12927

Abstract

Daily traffic accidents increase annually, causing a significant number of death and disability cases. Most of fatalities occur because of the late response to these emergency cases. The time after the traumatic injury is called the golden hour, where providing essential medical and surgical aid at that time increases the probability of saving human lives by one-third an average. Thus, the focus of this paper was to develop a system based on IoT for accident detection and classification. The system detects and classifies vehicle accidents based on severity level and reports the essential information about the accident to emergency services providers. The system consists of a microcontroller, GPS, and a group of sensors to determine different physical parameters related to vehicle motion. In addition, different types of machine learning classifiers were examined with the developed system to determine the most accurate classifier for the system. The classifiers are the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), Naive-Bayes Tree (NB), Decision Tree (DT), and Classification and Regression Trees (CART). The implementation of the system showed that GMM and CART models were better in terms of precision and recall. It was also shown that the severity of accidents depends mainly on the g-force value and fire occurrence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Cities and Smart Villages and the Global Digital Transformation: Strategy and Community Engagement)

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