Regulating the Smart City in European Municipalities: A Case Study of Amsterdam

Abstract

This article studies how local governments interface with the adoption of smart city initiatives, and the challenges this poses from a public law perspective. Although every smart city develops within an administrative territory regulated by a local government, this dimension often remains overlooked in legal and smart city literature. Municipal governments can act as regulators through their existing competences in spatial planning, environmental protection, local by-laws, financial subsidies, and partnerships. However, through an analysis of the Amsterdam Smart City program, this article shows that the smart city challenges this traditional role as regulator. Specifically, it observes four elements: (1) fragmentation, (2) networked governance, (3) multilevel governance, and (4) experimentation. These elements illustrate four challenges for the role and position of municipalities in the smart city: (1) collaborating across municipal departments, (2) steering smart city programs through public-private networks, (3) navigating the limits of local government’s powers on smart city issues, and (4) experimenting with new forms of public procurement. These challenges push municipal governments to find new ways to fulfil their role as public authorities, such as the creation of new municipal departments, the development of soft law instruments, and the use of innovative procurement. Legal research needs to examine these shifts in a context where citizens’ rights are put under pressure. smart city, municipal government, local government, public-private partnerships, networks, governance, privatization, digitization

The integration of BIM in the application of green building materials in construction projects

“…Another illustration of a green construction that incorporates sustainable materials is The Edge construction in Amsterdam, Netherlands [7,8]. The structure is intended to be energy-neutral and has earned the highest level of sustainability certification, BREEAM Outstanding.…”

“…By integrating the characteristics of green building materials with BIM models, more accurate material selection, performance simulation and full life cycle management can be achieved at each stage of the construction project [22], thereby optimizing energy efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and contributing to the development of sustainable buildings. Provide strong support.…”

Smart cities and cumulative effects on fundamental rights

“…Voorwinden's empirical research examining Amsterdam's development into a smart city well illustrates the highly fragmented emerging landscape (Voorwinden, 2022). The author identified 321 initiatives that concern a wide range of topics and legal fields, and leverage a wide spectrum of technologies.…”