Highlights  A novel generic roadmap for the transformation towards Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) is proposed. To do so, an unprecedented link between the Theory of Change (ToC) and Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) is introduced along with a novel theoretical logic model for the transformation towards Smart Sustainable Cities.  The roadmap provides an overview of the general directions of a transformation process, identifying the main phases and components that should be achieved during a transformation journey.  The main contribution of this research study is highlighting the need for an additional starting phases throughout the transformation process based on an established theory. These phases ensure examining the current city context regarding its economic, social, environmental, and political state and challenges as well as checking the city readiness for change through assessing its local assets. The proposed roadmap aims at assisting city planners, decision and policy makers, and key stakeholders in understanding the essential aspects to be considered during their cities transformation journey.  The proposed roadmap was validated by surveying experts in the area from different countries around the world.

The concept of Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) is gaining increasing attention by the countries around the globe, particularly in response to potential future environmental challenges and increased proportion of populations living in cities. Several countries claim to have implemented or in the process of implementing SSCs, and there are many models that can be used to measure how 'smart' the initiatives and cities are. This paper critically evaluates the main models to measure city smartness and identifies deficiencies, namely that they are not sensitive to the needs, resources, priorities and wider context for individual cities. The paper suggests a multidimensional methodological model that assists in evaluating the smartness level of a city while being sensitive to its context. It provides further contribution by combining sustainable and smart attributes of a city.

No abstract

No abstract

Rapid urbanization and globalization make the move toward Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) a must. Achieving successful transformation towards SSCs constitutes a significant challenge for policy makers. One area that is not well covered in the literature is the application of SSCs in specific regions, such as the Arab region. This paper draws upon examples of SSCs initiatives and existing SSC transformation frameworks to more fully articulate the challenges of achieving successful SSC projects across the Arab region. One of the interesting emergent themes is the emergence of two main approaches to SSCs transformation, Brownfield and Greenfield approaches.