Author(s): Bielska, T., Lashkina, M., Maliukhov, O., Maliukhova, Y., & Lazariev, H.
AIssues of public authorities’ activities determine the state of infrastructure development and integration of smart technologies. The concept of “smart cities” is becoming increasingly popular. It provides an innovative ecosystem for effective interaction between public authorities and citizens, reducing direct administrative costs of local administrations. The present study has used statistical methods in order to analyze surveys of citizens of different regions of Ukraine on the activities of public authorities. The investigation has been based on the concept of a “smart city”. The results show that the activities of public authorities in the sphere of infrastructure development and integration of smart technologies remain chaotic. The main reason for this state lies in regional differences in the competence and skills of local authorities. Corruption, mistrust and low level of citizens’ involvement in the development of smart cities are the main reasons for the lack of significant changes, barriers to the integration of the “smart city” concept. An additional factor is the passive position of citizens due to psychological factors (distrust of the activity, lack of activity in the life of the city, unwillingness to participate in the discussion of urban issues). The main barriers of infrastructure development are as follows: fiscal constraints, lack of skills and competencies, corruption. Barriers of infrastructure development in the context of citizens’ involvement are as follows: lack of ability to monitor the transparency of budget allocation, low level of interest, lack of digital skills, lack of smart technologies to ensure communication between government and citizens through mobile devices, lack of citizens’ influence on management decisions. The development of the “state in the smartphone” concept as well as “smart cities” concept is a solution to the identified problems of infrastructure development.