Technology Readiness Level Assessment of Smart Cities: case Study of London

The world faces complex challenges due to population growth, urbanization, and technological advances that impact the environment and citizens' well-being. Many global governments seek to transition into prosperous smart cities to address these issues. The Smart City concept aims to employ innovative approaches to urban complexity, addressing energy optimization, resource management, environmental conservation, safety enhancement, improved quality of life, and efficient urban operations. Rooted on the Internet of Things (IoT) philosophy, the Smart City concept seeks creative solutions to urbanization challenges. However, current smart city assessment tools (SCA) have shortcomings, such as imbalanced indicators, challenges in comparing cities, and an inability to assess global contributions. Urban sustainability and smart city frameworks categorize into ten sectors and three impact categories to guide decision-making. London, a focal point of this study, ranks second among IoT cities globally, actively pursuing its smart city vision. Acknowledged in various smart city rankings, London leads in entrepreneurial ventures and has initiated the Smarter London Together project. The approach included literature review to define smart city concepts and indicators, followed by an explanation of Technology Readiness Level (TRL). London was then analyzed as a case study using smart city indicators. Results showed an overall TRL score of 7, signifying advanced functionality, yet certain components require further development for desired maturity. The study innovatively integrates sustainability and smart city frameworks, introducing Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for comprehensive performance measurement. This pioneering approach distinguishes the study, providing crucial insights for future research in the intersection of sustainability, technology, and smart city initiatives.