From elusive to ubiquitous: understanding smart cities

Abstract: Converting the city into a "smart" one is the emerging strategy of alleviating the problems generated by the rapid population growth in most urban areas, i.e., urbanisation. However, as the rate in which the different concepts of the smart city architecture are implemented is very high, academic research pertaining these advancements simply can not keep up. To improve the existing knowledge-base regarding the concept of smart cities, this paper reviews the existing definitions, as well as its architectures, based on an in-depth literature review of relevant studies and research fields alike. Additionally, we also provide our own definition of the smart city concept.