Abstract

In a changing global landscape in which more things than people are connected to the internet, more mobile than fixed broadband subscriptions are active and more than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, smartphones and the mobile services and apps that run on them are the predominant interface between citizens and the so-called “Smart City”. This however, poses difficulties for cities and local governments that are faced with a plethora of new challenges in a changing public service context. This paper provides four different strategies local governments can take when it comes to thinking about mobile city services, as well as ten inhibiting and contributing factors that can be taken into account when considering an initiative in the volatile mobile sector. These strategies and factors are initial steps in re-thinking what cities should focus on in their efforts to becoming smarter, with mobile as a key starting point. Keywords: Smart Cities, mobile services, mobile apps, urban strategy.

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