"Safe City" as a security component of the Smart City concept: public and management aspect

Abstract

The article examines the Safe City concept in the context of Smart City development and determines its public governance dimension in the conditions of digital transformation of the urban environment. It is substantiated that the contemporary understanding of Smart City is gradually moving beyond a purely technological approach and increasingly encompasses the efficiency of public governance, sustainable development, the quality of urban services, human and social capital, and the implementation of data-driven governance. The key components of Smart City – Smart Governance, Smart Economy, Smart Mobility, Smart Environment, Smart People, and Smart Living – are analyzed, with particular attention paid to their security dimension. It is established that security has a cross-cutting nature and includes the protection of information systems and data, cybersecurity, transport and public safety, economic and infrastructure resilience, prevention of environmental and technological threats, and the development of a public safety culture. The evolution and transformation of the Safe City concept are examined. A gradual transition is identified from local video surveillance and crime-recording systems towards the integrated use of digital technologies, intelligent video analytics, geographic information systems, Internet of Things devices, big data, and interagency information exchange tools. Particular attention is paid to the changing role of data in urban security governance and its use for monitoring, threat detection, risk assessment, forecasting, and decision-making support. The public governance dimension of the Safe City system is determined through a combination of monitoring, information and analytical, coordination, organizational, preventive, and control functions, as well as the function of supporting managerial decision-making. It is demonstrated that the digitalization of urban security creates the prerequisites for a transition from a predominantly reactive model of responding to hazardous events towards preventive and risk-oriented governance. It is emphasized that the effectiveness of the Safe City system should be assessed not by the number of surveillance technologies deployed, but by its capacity to ensure timely threat detection, information exchange, interagency coordination, well-grounded managerial decisions, and rapid response while simultaneously respecting human rights and freedoms.