5. Conclusions
Over the past six years, cities around the world have been working to meet the commitment entered into at the Bilbao Summit to develop the Information Society in their territories and they have taken a step further with a view to promoting innovation and knowledge management processes, two key factors to achieve the competitiveness of cities.
The same trend can be observed regarding the penetration of Internet usage for e‐commerce in companies. However, although the number of companies with websites is increasing, the percentage of companies that take advantage of e‐commerce opportunities, either to buy or sell through the Internet, is still small.
The rapid development of new technologies and of innovation processes has resulted in a new city model, the famous "Smart City". A type of city that uses new technologies to make them more liveable, functional, competitive and modern through the use of new technologies, the promotion of innovation and knowledge management, bringing together 6 key fields of performance: the economy, mobility , the environment, citizenship, quality of life and, finally, management.
Financial promotion
This study gives us an overview of the current situation of cities in different regions of the world, in terms of these fields, and allows us to identify particular experiences and good practices, facilitating the exchange and learning among cities.
One of the main instruments cities use to promote economic and social development in their territories are the Local Development Agencies. They seek to leverage local resources, promote employment and entrepreneurship. Evidence of this trend is that the vast majority of cities (75%) has a Local Development Agency. This trend however does not exist in African cities, a region where the percentage of cities with Local Development Agency is still limited.
Below are the main findings from the study on the situation of the cities in each of the fields.
On the other hand, and with the aim of encouraging economic development, cities have sought to promote sectors that are considered strategic for the future economic and social development of their territories, either by developing sectoral strategic plans or by promoting certain industries, especially those based on technology, innovation and creativity.
1. Smart economy
Retaining and attracting talent and promoting creativity
The economy (Smart Economy) refers to cities with "smart" industries, especially in the areas of information and communication technology (ICT) as well as other industries that involve ICT in their production processes.
Other key factors in a "smart" economy include retaining and attracting talent and fostering creativity. Cities are increasingly aware of the need to have well‐ educated, creative and entrepreneurial citizens in order to be more competitive.
Penetration of ICT use in businesses
It is for this reason that most cities (65%) have developed some kind of initiative to attract and retain talent in their territory, but this trend is more intense in Europe and Asia.
The reality of the New Digital Society affects companies, just as it affects people, whatever their size. Companies must adapt to this reality, adapting their culture and they way they organise work to the digital economy. In that sense, although there are differences between regions in Europe and Asia compared with Latin America and Africa, regarding the degree of penetration of new technologies in businesses, the number of companies that have computers and Internet connections is on the increase.
Some cities have developed very interesting experiences, as is the case of the "Do it in Barcelona" programme, the "Plan for the Promotion of Creative Industries" in the city of Bilbao, or the "Programme to boost R&D&i in SMEs" from the city of Taipei, among others.
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