A Smart City Model Based on the New Public Service Assumption and Evaluating Its Infrastructural Components in Bandar Abbas Municipality

Various economic, social, and environmental crises, as well as the new phenomenon of the rapid spread of the deadly disease, Coronavirus, in the world have increased the need to pay attention to smart cities. The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions and components of the smart city based on the assumptions of new public service and to explain the current state of operationalizing the smart city, and its obstacles in Bandar Abbas. This research is applied and conducted using a mixed-method research methodology in two qualitative and quantitative stages. In the first stage, employing the content analysis methodology, a model for smart city in Bandar Abbas Municipality was designed according to the theory of new public service. In the second stage, using SPSS software for analyzing the questionnaires distributed, the smart status of Bandar Abbas was evaluated. The findings of the qualitative stage show that the realization of a smart city requires the creation of ICT infrastructure, participation of human and social capital, integrated urban management as well as urban management based on the assumptions of the New Public Service. Analysis of data at the quantitative stage indicates that the city of Bandar Abbas is in an unfavorable situation in all technical, human, and institutional aspects of a smart city. Moreover, the lack of human and institutional infrastructures, above the other factors, creates obstacles and limitation in the path of smartening the city of Bandar Abbas.