Transforming city initiative into a smart city initiative: the case of "winter maintenance operations"

A smart city has the objective to improve the quality of life of citizens by the extensive use of Information and Communication Technologies. In this project, the focus will be made on winter maintenance operations (WMO). Based on an integrative framework for smart cities initiatives, we will try to understand the links that can be established between smart city theoretical concepts and winter maintenance smart initiatives in practice. This proposal is a first step to bridge the gap between theory and practice by analysing smart city initiatives related to snow collecting. A qualitative analysis, based on structured observations and interviews with decision-makers of WMO in snowy cities, will be made in order to provide relevant knowledge that would serve as a basis for decision-makers to better plan their smart city initiatives.