DoIP Spotlight: Negar Noori

What is your research about?

All around the world, one of the most important expectations of citizens from a livable city is having access to high quality urban services. At the same time, governments are dealing with problems such as air pollution, heavy traffic, population growth etc. Recently, cities are willing to become ‘smart’ in order to find solutions for the existing problems and to increase citizen satisfaction. In simple words, becoming a ‘Smart City’ means utilizing emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage a city and provide better services and solutions. The research aimed at developing a conceptual understanding of the smart city, helping smart city initiatives to learn from good practices and make reasoned design choices to develop their smart city roadmap.

How are you progressing so far and what are your main findings?

I am currently at the final step of my PhD and preparing for graduation by October 2020. During my PhD, I developed an Input-output model of the smart city development process and based on that a framework of smart city design variables to benchmark smart city good practices. The findings are formulated as lessons for smart city initiatives. Four scientific articles have been published so far, and one is in press. 

In what way is your research project contributing to inclusive prosperity?

The new generation of smart cities places ‘citizens’ at the core of their development. They even claim that the goal of their smart city program is to enhance it into an inclusive city (a city for all citizens). However, this transition is currently an experimental pathway that needs to be further explored.

What is the added value in doing your PhD at the Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity Initiative?

The value-added is to work within a multidisciplinary team of policymakers, managers and business developers, philosophers and lawyers in which I can expand my perspective. This is essential for investigating the smart city concept.    

What are your ambitions for the future?

I experience the best period of my life during my PhD. My research project is a collaboration between the Delft University of Technology (TUDelft) and the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, and I had the chance to work at these two top universities. With esteem to the memories and experiences from being in academia, my ambition is to be an intermediate between universities, businesses and governments.