Green clusters for a digital age

Abstract

Smart city is a concept that can be defined in different ways but each definition involves the use of information technology (IT). Its publicly declared goal is to improve the quality of life for its citizens (offering better services, providing a lower environmental footprint, allowing sustainability and last, but not least, improving citizens’ power in shaping the life of their city). In 2010, Evika Karamagioli and Lasse Berntzen pictured a ‘Russian nested doll’?like expanding list of prerequisites for building Smart Cities: access to technology; accessibility; education and training; freedom to speech/right to privacy/access to information; privacy/identity/anonymity; technological infrastructure; and, the most important one, trust. This paper will contrast, having in mind the digital divide, some of these prerequisites for two countries: Norway and Romania. In addition, given the global challenge of climate change, the smart city concept is coupled with one possible instrument, the development of green industries. Since addressing climate change requires the reduction of fossil resources dependency, transitioning from a fossil?based industrial production to a bio?based (green) industrial structure opens the way for a discussion about green clusters; those might be part of the solution. Some examples of good practices and clusters for green industries from Norway are also provided and some success stories including Romanian firms are presented.