A Human Centric Approach on the Analysis of the Smart City Concept: the case study of the Limassol city in Cyprus

Abstract. The impact of medium-sized southern European cities challenges on the “smartness” of the city is a quite interesting case that is not quite analyzed yet. Our scientific objective is to find a simple understandable model linking human smart characteristics to a group of socio-demographic and urban environment indices, applied to the case of Limassol Urban Complex, the southernmost European city, with a total population of 208 980. The data set of the analysis contains 25 variables in 3 thematic domains using as spatial analysis level, the 126 postal code areas of the most urbanized part of the city. The study results obtained through multivariate statistical analysis and thematic cartography using GIS technology. The results reveal that the human smart characteristics consist of the use of high-speed internet and broad band telephony, recycling activities, employment in creative industry, high educational attainment and open-mindedness (i.e. participation in EU elections), are significantly correlated with demographic dynamics and built infrastructure characteristics. Creativity and open-mindedness tend to appear in most densely urban areas, mostly occupied by indigenous inhabitants. Recycling and technology oriented smart characteristics are mostly correlated with no-native residents, and high educational attainment. In the outskirts of the city of Limassol the developing dynamics are almost the same with a greater blend between native and non-native inhabitants.