How Smart Are V4 Cities? Evidence from the Multidimensional Analysis

Abstract

The article presents findings from the multidimensional comparative study focusing on the implementation of the Smart City concept in selected cities of the Visegrad Group (V4). V4 has been established by its member states (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary) in a joint effort to break from the communist past and develop the common democratic values of the European Community. Aforementioned efforts involved meeting other important goals, such as socio-economic convergence processes including reaching better living conditions for V4 citizens. At present, strategies that aim to improve the wellbeing of citizens are manifested by Smart City concepts and are being implemented in V4 cities. The main research task in this article is to answer the question regarding regional (state) divergence in Smart City implementation in selected cities. The results of the study show that the best Smart City implementation scores are shared by Czech Republic towns. Polish cities (Kielce, Rzeszów, Lublin) located in the eastern regions of the country (which are also eastern border regions of the European Union) have the worst Smart City implementation scores, according to the value of the synthetic measure.