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Smartness and Technical Readiness of Latin American Cities: A Critical Assessment

In almost every forum around the world, country leaders are discussing over the necessity of building smart cities. However, even the term “smart city” is diffuse nowadays. Some countries want their cities to become smarter, and others want to create smart cities from scratch. Several mappings have been developed around the world to locate the smartest cities. We believe that, since Latin American and Caribbean countries are exploring the possibility of creating smart cities, proper mappings and plans are necessary to assure that the efforts are not a waste. Using a literature review and a survey, we try to determine the state of smart cities development and its technical readiness in the region. The survey results convey that the perceived level of smartness of cities was low to average, and the potential benefits of becoming smart were evident. Despite perceptions being so positive about smart cities viability, some participants highlighted that the establishment of smart cities is an integral process that requires more than technology. The importance technology plays in building Latin American and Caribbean smart cities was reviewed in the development plans of four local governments. This analysis showed that technology plays an important role in the development plans of cities wishing to become smarter.