Assessing Local Community’s Perception Towards the Development of Smart City in Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Evidence from Mauritius

Abstract

Purpose: As local communities are embedded into the development of smart cities, their perceptions and attitudes towards these projects are crucial to ensure sustainable socio-economic development. This paper aims at assessing local community’s perception towards the development of smart city in Mauritius. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey-based research was employed to achieve the aim of the study. Using a stratified random sampling technique, the questionnaire was administered among 413 respondents residing in the vicinity of six smart cities in Mauritius. The data were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics V20.0. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to extract the new factor structure and to examine the construct validity. Findings: Findings of the study revealed that smart cities are well perceived by local residents based on the economic, social and technological perceived benefits that are associated with these projects. This paper also stresses on the importance of adopting a holistic approach in the development of smart cities by articulating technology and local citizens’ engagement. Originality/Value: This paper contributes to the current understanding of the factors affecting local residents’ perceptions towards the development of smart cities. Findings are relevant to planners, policy makers and smart city developers in shaping residents’ attitudes towards smart city development. The present research also attempts to fill in an apparent gap in literature on smart city development in a SIDS context. Keywords: Smart City, SIDS economies, Urbanisation, perceptions, sustainable Development, Mauritius