Publicación:

Smart City strategy as a means to improve residents’ quality of life: The Case of Barranco,Lima, Peru

Resumen

A Smart City is one whose sustainable economic growth and high quality of life are due to investment in human and social capital, communication infrastructure and the intelligent management of natural resources through participatory governance. Smart Cities connect physical infrastructure, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, social infrastructure and business infrastructure to take advantage of the collective intelligence of a city. Smart Cities often implement both advanced infrastructure and modern ICTs. Likewise, Dustdar, Nastic and Šcekic (2017) and Marsal-Llacuna, Colomer-Llinàs and Meléndez-Frigola (2015), state that the Smart City strategy provides more efficient services to citizens, monitoring and optimizing existing assets, such as infrastructure, to improve their quality of life. The concept of the Smart City is not limited to the application of ICT: Smart Cities can also be understood as communities in which citizens, companies, institutions and municipal agencies collaborate to integrate systems and make them more efficient, to stimulate citizen participation and to continuously improve quality of life. This allows urban performance to be improved, services to become more efficient, existing infrastructure to be monitored and optimized and innovative business models in the public and private sectors to be encouraged. Maldonado Amaya et al. (2020) indicate that a Smart City is composed of two concepts: urban planning and sustainable management, making use of technology to promote a more human and innovative city. Globally, an increasing number of municipalities and districts are trying to become “smart” due to the benefits Smart Cities provide. It is necessary to understand each of the variables related to Smart Cities. Smart Cities necessitate to put in place the necessary mechanisms so at least one Peruvian city to become “smart,” in order to improving its residents’ quality of life. Barranco, a district located on the Pacific Ocean in the city of Lima, the capital of Peru, aims to become smart to improve quality of life. Barranco is just 3.3 km2 in area and possesses roughly 33,000 inhabitants. It is a National Cultural Heritage district. Barranco has also become one of the most important tourist destinations in the city of Lima. Like many other cities and districts in the world, it is experiencing a significant period of demographic growth, which is having a great impact on its residents’ way of life. Barranco has been changing in terms of demographics, urban profile and zoning, which has presented new challenges for the district’s government and residents. The growth of the district due to the real estate boom has generated new business opportunities. The proliferation of high-rise buildings with apartments measuring 40 m2 is attracting both new inhabitants and tourists. New businesses have been renovating mansions built at the beginning of the 20th century into shops and offices.