New Shades on the Smart City Paradigm During Covid-19: A Multiple Case Study Analysis of Italian Local Governments

Due to the chaotic circumstances related to the pandemic, new challenges and opportunities are emerging in several sectors, including the urban context. From the point of view of local governments, there could be repercussions in terms of digital growth and increased effort in the creation of smart, sustainable, accountable, and interconnected cities. The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the new connotations of the smart city paradigm due to the spread of Covid-19, in particular in identifying new key elements of the smart cities initiatives emerged by the current scenario, in addition to those identified by the consolidated literature. To meet this knowledge requirement, this study in based on a qualitative investigation approach that follows the multiple case study model. Interviews with directors, managers, and technicians of local governments shed light on new categories connected to the smart city paradigm due to the pandemic situation which, combined together, allow “transforming” the acronym of S.M.A.R.T. into a new one here proposed: Safety; Mitigation; Accountability; Resilience; Traceability. In this sense, the study offers several insights, potentially capable of generating useful implications for both researchers and professionals in the public sector.