Speaker
Description
In response to increasingly complex urban development challenges, reports from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2024) and Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2020) indicate that smart cities are one approach to addressing rapid urbanization. Through applying science and technology to improve the quality of life, it is considered to optimize the allocation of resources and overall competitiveness. At the same time, the smart city strategies emphasize on people-centred concept to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. Some studies mention that smart city initiatives attract external labor forces, resulting in local rent increases and displacement of low-income groups. There is limited literature on how smart infrastructure affects real estate prices and possible impacts on social equity.
However, like all urban environment improvement policies, similar issues arise including areas with upgraded infrastructure triggered real estate values increase, attracting high-income groups and real estate investors to further result in unaffordability. This may indirectly displace low-income groups or original residents, known as gentrification. Previous studies on drivers of gentrification include the development of parks and green spaces, urban renewal projects, mass transit station constructions, and disaster prevention improvements. Literature on smart gentrification focuses on digital and virtual aspects of participation.
This research focuses on administrative districts Qianzhen and Lingya Districts in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, as case studies to examine whether smart city infrastructure investments lead to possible gentrification, analyzing potential factors and correlations. First, the literature review analyzes types of gentrification and contexts. It defines the scope of smart city infrastructure types (such as smart transportation), examining the most common facility types and their coverage rates in these districts. Second, the hedonic property value method and multivariate analysis examine correlations between smart city infrastructure coverage factors, added benefit indicators, and gentrification indicators. The analysis results will explain how smart cities affect spatial equity, providing research recommendations for policy formulation to achieve inclusivity and sustainability in future development and resource investment.
| Keywords | smart city; gentrification; sustainability |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
