Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation
Authors
1
Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Human Geography and Planning, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3
Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
The central urban fabrics of metropolitan areas, as key loci of identity and economic activity, are confronted with multidimensional challenges. The smart city paradigm offers significant transformative potential for the regeneration of these fabrics; however, the lack of an integrated theoretical framework capable of simultaneously addressing the philosophical dimensions, namely the underlying rationale, and the functional dimensions, namely the mechanisms of implementation, remains a fundamental obstacle. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop a context-sensitive philosophical-functional framework to address this gap. A mixed-methods research design grounded in the pragmatism paradigm was employed. The study population comprised 200 peer-reviewed international articles, selected in accordance with the PRISMA protocol and examined through an integrated quantitative and qualitative analytical approach, including LDA and K-means algorithms implemented in Python and thematic analysis. Validity was ensured through methodological triangulation, while reliability was verified using a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.87. The quantitative analysis identified six principal conceptual clusters: smart technology and infrastructure (26.4%), socio-cultural dimensions (22.1%), governance and policy-making (18.7%), environmental sustainability and resilience (15.9%), economic regeneration (12.5%), and challenges and barriers (4.4%). The qualitative analysis resulted in the identification of 55 main themes as components and 195 sub-themes as indicators, which were structured within a three-layer framework consisting of philosophical, functional, and contextual levels. The resulting framework demonstrates that effective regeneration depends on moving beyond a purely technocratic approach toward an evolutionary perspective, in which technology is embedded within the socio-spatial fabric of the central area and shaped by three key constraints: transparent data governance, an anti-displacement social annex, and a multi-resource financial architecture. Ultimately, the study presents an implementable and locally adaptable roadmap for transforming central urban fabrics into smart, just, resilient, and sustainable spaces.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
The concept of the smart city, as a multifaceted phenomenon, intersects with technological, economic, political, and social discourses. It should not be understood merely as a technological solution, but rather as a medium through which social relations are redefined, new spaces for the exercise of power are produced, and the logic of advanced capitalism is manifested. From a philosophical perspective, urban regeneration emphasizes the pursuit of social justice through transformations in social relations and urban governance practices. This study aims to develop a philosophical-functional framework for the application of smart city approaches in the urban regeneration of central urban areas. Central urban areas, due to the concentration of historical, economic, social, and environmental values, constitute a complex and often paradoxical arena for smart interventions. A review of the theoretical literature indicates that understanding the relationship between smartification and urban regeneration requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates philosophical dimensions, such as justice, ethics, and autonomy, with functional aspects, including technology, infrastructure, and governance, as well as socio-cultural contextual layers. Moving beyond purely technocratic interpretations, this paper examines the concept of the smart city at the intersection of ideas advanced by thinkers ranging from Marx and Weber to Harvey and Skinner, emphasizing the necessity of designing integrated frameworks in which technology serves to strengthen social capital, enhance cultural cohesion, and reduce spatial inequalities.
Methodology
This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative components and grounded in the pragmatism paradigm, with the objective of extracting an integrated analytical framework. The study sample consists of 200 peer-reviewed international articles published between 2000 and 2025, retrieved from databases including Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, and selected in accordance with the PRISMA protocol after screening an initial pool of 4,125 documents. In the quantitative phase, content analysis based on text mining techniques was conducted using Python programming and libraries such as NLTK and Scikit-learn. The data preprocessing stage involved text cleaning, stopword removal, tokenization, and lemmatization. Textual features were extracted using the TF-IDF method and N-gram models, followed by the construction of a document-term matrix. Subsequently, topic modeling was performed using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm, which resulted in the identification of eight latent topics. Conceptual clustering was then conducted using the K-means algorithm, yielding six primary conceptual clusters with satisfactory internal coherence, as indicated by an average silhouette score of 0.81. In the qualitative phase, an inductive thematic analysis was conducted on the selected articles, following the methodological approach proposed by Braun and Clarke (2021). Following the initial coding of 1,125 codes, 195 sub-themes and, ultimately, 55 main themes were identified and organized into a three-layer framework comprising philosophical, functional, and contextual layers. Reliability was ensured through parallel coding, yielding a Cohen’s Kappa coefficient of 0.87, while validity was established through data triangulation and expert review.
Results and discussion
The quantitative clustering analysis identified six primary conceptual clusters: smart technology and infrastructure (26.4%), social and cultural dimensions (22.1%), governance and policymaking (18.7%), environmental sustainability and resilience (15.9%), economic revitalization (12.5%), and challenges and barriers (4.4%). This distribution suggests a relative balance in the contemporary literature between technological emphases and socio-institutional considerations. The qualitative thematic analysis resulted in the identification of 55 main themes as components and 195 sub-themes as indicators, which were organized into a three-layer framework. The philosophical layer, serving an orienting role, comprises principles such as spatial justice, the right to the city, autonomy, and data ethics. The functional layer, corresponding to enactment, includes operational components such as integrated infrastructure development, participatory governance, smart monitoring, and innovative financial models. The contextual layer, which may facilitate or impede implementation, addresses factors such as the digital divide, institutional resistance, security risks, and identity sensitivities. The findings indicate that project success depends on moving beyond a technological-instrumental model toward an actively shaping smart model. Within this model, technology is not conceived as an external solution, but rather as an internal and formative factor shaped by historical, economic, and social struggles within the central urban fabric. Three key conditions for realizing this model were identified: transparent and accountable data-driven governance; the presence of a social safeguard against displacement and the assurance of the right to remain; and the design of a multi-source and sustainable financial architecture.
Conclusion
This study presents an integrated philosophical-functional framework for the application of smart city approaches in the urban regeneration of central urban areas, derived from the systematic integration of quantitative and qualitative findings. The main outcome of the study is a conceptual shift from viewing the smart city as a predetermined solution toward the thesis of actively shaping smart. From this perspective, the smart regeneration of central urban areas should be understood as a learning biotic system, in which technology, society, economy, and space interact dialectically and contextually to shape one another. The role of planners and policymakers, within this framework, is to design the rules governing these interactions rather than to impose predetermined outcomes. The final framework, comprising 55 components and 195 operational indicators, serves as a roadmap for managing inherent conflicts within central urban fabrics and for guiding smartification toward advances in technology, social justice, environmental sustainability, and the preservation of historical and cultural identity. This study paves the way for future research aimed at adapting and empirically testing this framework across diverse central urban contexts.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.
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