Making smart cities work in the face of conflicts: Lessons from practitioners of South Korea's U-City projects

A common concern in relation to smart cities is how to turn the concept into reality. The aim of this research is to investigate the implementation process of smart cities based upon the experience of South Korea's U-City projects. The research shows that poorly-managed conflicts during implementation can diminish the potential of smart cities and discourage future improvements. The nature of smart cities is based on the concept of governance, while the planning practice is still in the notion of government. In order to facilitate the collaborative practice, the research has shown that collaborative institutional arrangements and joint fact-finding processes might secure an integrated service delivery for smart cities by overcoming operational difficulties in real-life contexts.