Smart Cities have become increasingly prominent across both academia and practice as cities seek new approaches to address evolving urban challenges. However, despite this growing interest, Smart Cities do not inherently embed disaster resilience, which must be built systematically rather than treated as an add-on. This highlights a clear gap in understanding how to incorporate disaster resilience into Smart City development in a meaningful way. Although the two agendas are increasingly viewed as complementary, their integration requires careful attention to both conceptual clarity and operational realities. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how to effectively integrate disaster resilience within Smart Cities coherently, capitalising on the potential of key Smart City characteristics. To achieve this aim, the study adopted ‘mixed methods’ as the methodological choice and collected data through expert interviews and questionnaire surveys. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis and cognitive mapping, while survey findings were examined through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. This study's findings reflect that operationalising disaster resilience in Smart Cities is a practical challenge that extends beyond conceptual alignment and requires coordinated attention to solutions, policies, and stakeholder dynamics. Enhancing the clarity of the conceptual framing of disaster resilience in Smart Cities by capitalising on the potential of key Smart City characteristics, the study examines Smart City characteristics with particular reference to disaster resilience. As a further outcome of this objective, a self-assessment tool was developed to help Smart Cities identify gaps in their disaster resilience strategies. From an operational standpoint, the research examines the current status and challenges of embedding disaster resilience in Smart Cities and identifies three key areas for addressing them. The three areas include the design of effective Smart City solutions, the coherence of policy agendas, and the dynamics of multi-stakeholder involvement. In support of the first area, the findings propose an Inputs–Process–Outputs model to guide the design and evaluation of effective solutions. The findings also demonstrate the importance of coherent application of Smart City and disaster resilience policies, identifying eight policy coherence mechanisms and outlining a set of policy priorities. In addition, the study highlights the essential role of multi-stakeholder collaboration and identifies the actors who should form a dedicated coordinating unit or champion to support integration across policies and practices. Bringing these insights together, the study presents a framework for addressing the challenges of operationalising disaster resilience in Smart Cities. Overall, this research fills a significant gap by providing empirical evidence that positions Smart City development within the broader disaster resilience agenda, strengthening conceptual understanding, guiding practical implementation, and informing policy and future research.
| Date of Award | 11 Jun 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Michael Ginger (Main Supervisor) & Richard Haigh (Co-Supervisor) |
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