This book critically explores research and development on the smart sustainable city, emphasizing the tension and association between smartness and sustainability, both as a concept and as a phenomenon in a Nordic context.

Worldwide, increasing urbanization and its related challenges, along with urgent environmental issues, have sped up the international interest for smart, sustainable cities as a concept that could increase the efficiency of services, minimize environmental impacts, and improve the quality of living in cities and urban areas. This book discusses the provenance, substance, and processes of the smart sustainable city, with illustrative examples of how it is translated into urban realities in a medium-sized city, drawing upon Stavanger, one of the first, and one of the leading smart sustainable cities in Europe. The book’s multidisciplinary perspectives and thematic lenses include education and knowledge, arts and culture, safety, climate and sustainability, mobility and transport, economics, democracy, participation, innovation and entrepreneurship, data, and communication. While demonstrating the academic breadth and wide-ranging impact of the smart sustainable city concept, the book promotes and updates the ground for mutual understanding, communication, and collaboration between multiple disciplines and stakeholders involved in developing functional, democratic, and sustainable solutions for the urban present and future.

A Nordic Smart Sustainable City: Lessons from Theory and Practice presents an overview of current approaches in a readable format for practitioners and administrators in municipalities and related businesses, for researchers, academics, educators, students, and stakeholders.