Advancing Environmental Sustainability and Smart City Solutions: Insights from Innovative Research

Abstract

As editor of this special issue, I am honored to present a curated collection of research articles that explore the dynamic nexus between environmental sustainability and the burgeoning field of smart city development. In recent years, the rapid pace of urbanization, coupled with exponential technological advancements, has underscored the urgent need for transformative approaches to address environmental challenges and foster sustainable urban ecosystems (Belaïd and Arora, 2024).Cities are at the forefront of global environmental impact, accounting for a significant share of energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource depletion (Mongo et al., 2021a(Mongo et al., , 2021bBelaïd et al. 2023). As urban populations continue to swell, the imperative to mitigate these environmental footprints while enhancing quality of life and resilience has never been more pressing. Concurrently, the emergence of smart technologies offers unprecedented opportunities to harness datadriven insights, optimize resource utilization, and catalyze sustainable urban transformations (Somanath et al. 2021;Belaïd 2022a Belaïd ,b, 2024.The articles within this special issue represent a diverse array of research endeavors, each contributing a unique perspective to the multifaceted discourse on environmental sustainability and smart cities solutions. From empirical investigations elucidating the intricate relationships between energy consumption and carbon emissions (Kisswani 2022; Mukhtarov 2023) to theoretical frameworks elucidating the complexities of strategic environmental policy-making (Chang and Sellak 2022), the contributions herein offer a rich tapestry of insights and empirical evidence (Dahmani 2023;Youjin, 2024).Spanning across geographical and disciplinary boundaries, these articles underscore the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability and smart urban development. By examining the intricate interplay between technological innovation, policy interventions, socio-economic dynamics, and environmental outcomes, this