This paper makes the case for smart policy development in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE). It uses EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) 2017 results for CESEE cities to outline local infrastructure gaps and demonstrate the productivity and innovation gaps between CESEE cities and other EU cities. It discusses negative demographic trends in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and evaluates capital and non-capital regional convergence in CESEE countries. Introducing a Smart Region Index, to allow the identification of gaps in CESEE regions compared with the EU, it also uses EIBIS to provide further conclusions on obstacles to investment for CESEE municipalities and highlights the importance of the use of EU funds.

The rise of digital technologies has brought about rapid changes in the way innovation is created and diffused, redefining entire industries. This paper investigates the role that innovation plays in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe (CESEE), analysing the innovation performance and investment efforts in different countries in the region. Building on firm-level data from the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) and complementary data sources, the paper dives deeper in analysing the financing conditions of investment in innovation as a key driver that may explain differences in investment patterns compared to the rest of the European Union (EU).

This book considers and examines the concept of a Smart City in the context of improving the quality of life and sustainable development in Central and Eastern European cities. The Smart City concept has been gaining popularity in recent years, with supporters considering it to be an effective tool to improve the quality of life of the city’s residents. In turn, opponents argue that it is a source of imbalance and claim that it escalates the problems of social and economic exclusion. This book, therefore, assesses the quality of life and its unsustainability in Central and Eastern European cities within the context of the Smart City concept and from the perspective of key areas of sustainable development. Using case studies of selected cities in Central and Eastern Europe and representative surveysof Polish cities, this book illustrates the process of creating smart cities and their impact on improving the quality of life of citizens. Specifically, this book investigates the conditions that a Smart City has to meet to become sustainable, how the Smart City concept can support the improvement of the residents’ quality of life and how Central and Eastern European countries create smartcity solutions. Containing both theoretical and practical content, this book will be of relevance to researchers and students interested in smart cities and urban planning, as well as city authorities and city stakeholders who are planning to implement the Smart City concept. Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The smart city concept, together with the growing importance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, has a significant impact on city management and governance. This book examines real cases of smart city management across Asia and Europe. It covers regions such as Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam to systemize the knowledge in the field. It evaluates smart cities’ efficiency and analyzes and assesses the standards, norms and best practices involved in the management of smart cities. The book answers questions such as what it is that makes smart cities stand out, why some countries in Europe and Asia have more smart cities than others, whether smart cities support the economy and GDP growth of the country, and what the main determinants of forming smart cities in Asia and Europe are. It also evaluates whether smart cities secure higher standards of living for their citizens as compared to regular cities. Many theoretical concepts and theories are developed and then verified from the perspective of Western economies. Central Eastern European and Asian countries are frequently overlooked, thus, examining the smart city idea from the viewpoint of non-Western economies offers a fresh insight into the concept and its adaptation and evolution. The range of issues analyzed in the book are multilayered and approached from a wide array of perspectives, from macroeconomics to management, finance and technology, and public policy. Thus, the book is addressed to researchers, students, and academics who specialize in sustainable and regional development, economic geography, and management. It will also be of interest to urban planners, environmental scientists, and policymakers.

The book discusses the concept of the smart city, and is based on a multi-service and multi-sectoral approach to urban planning, including various urban functions and the human capital of cities. The work is divided into three parts. The first is an introductory section which covers definitions, policies and tools used at European level for the development and classification of a smart city. The second presents a selection of examples of Western and Eastern communities, which experienced technologies and strategies that have made them smart. The third describes in detail the main three possible approaches (economical, technological and social) to the smart city concept which are the focus ambits of the holistic concept of smart city. The work provides a good overview of the concept of smart city, and also offers a critical analysis of the various approaches to smart cities, in order to provide tools to develop solutions that address the smart development of cities with an approach as multi-sectoral as possible. Its accessible language and several examples make the book easy to read and appealing to public administrators, students, planners and researchers.

The Investment Report, issued annually by the European Investment Bank, provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of investment and the financing of investment in the European Union. It combines the exploration of investment trends with in-depth analysis, focusing especially on the drivers and barriers to investment activity. The report leverages on a unique set of databases and survey data, including EIBIS, an annual survey of 13 500 firms in Europe, which focuses on their assessment of investment and investment finance conditions, and which allows analysis with firm balance sheet information. The report provides critical inputs to policy debates on the need for public action on investment, and on the types of intervention that can have the greatest impact.

The Europe Union's massive efforts to rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic present a unique opportunity to transform its economy, making it more green and digital – and ultimately more competitive. The Investment Report 2020-2021 looks at the toll the pandemic took on European firms' investment and future plans, as well as their efforts to meet the demands of climate change and the digital revolution. The report's analysis is based on a unique set of databases and data from a survey of 12 500 firms conducted in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. While providing a snapshot of the heavy toll the pandemic took on some forms of investment, the report also offers hope by pointing out the economic areas in which Europe remains strong, such as technologies that combine green and digital innovation.

This edited volume analyses how EU membership influenced the convergence process of member countries in the Baltics, Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. It also explores countries that are candidates for future EU membership. The speed of convergence of significant groups of low- and medium-income countries has never been as fast globally as it is today. Contributions by lead researchers of the area explore whether these countries are converging faster than their fundamentals and global trends would suggest because of EU membership, with its much tighter institutional and political anchorage

Smart Cities for Technological and Social Innovation establishes a key theoretical framework to understand the implementation and development of smart cities as innovation drivers, in terms of lasting impacts on productivity, livability and sustainability of specific initiatives. This framework is based on empirical analysis of 12 case studies, including pioneer projects from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and more. It explores how successful smart cities initiatives nurture both technological and social innovation using a combination of regulatory governance and private agency. Typologies of smart city-making approaches are explored in depth. Integrative analysis identifies key success factors in establishing innovation relating to the effectiveness of social systems, institutional thickness, governance, the role of human capital, and streamlining funding of urban development projects. Cases from a range of geographies, scales, social and economic contexts Explores how smart cities can promote technological and social innovation in terms of direct impacts on livability, productivity and sustainability Establishes an integrative framework based on empirical evidence to develop more innovative smart city initiatives Investigates the role of governments in coordinating, fostering and guiding innovations resulting from smart city developments Interrogates the policies and governance structures which have been effective in supporting the development and deployment of smart cities

Annotation This volume is one in a series initiated by the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies on the inter-relationship between globalisation and urban transformation. It identifies and describes the inter- and intra-urban transformations of Central and Eastern European cities and considers their pre-1945 historic legacies, the socialist period, and their contemporary transition towards market oriented and democratic systems. The dramatic changes since 1989 including the collapse of Communist ideology, the break-up of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the end of the Cold War and the impact of globalisation and European integration, have reconfigured this region and affected their re-integration into European and global networks. This book first examines the similarities and differences between significant Central and Eastern European cities, comparing the differing patterns of historical context and socialist legacies before 1990, and the impacts of internal and external forces on re-shaping these cities and their paths of transformation since 1990. It also examines the role of contemporary planning within the overall development of Central and Eastern European cities. The conclusion demonstrates the similarities and differences between Central and Eastern European cities and their re-integration into global networks.