THE ROLE OF UKLO AS A CATALYST IN THE PROCESS OF CO-CREATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BITOLA AS A SMALL SMART CITY

Abstract

The main driving forces behind the concept of “smart city” are information and communication technologies, with the focus on the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, as well as the local government and all the different social actors that make up a city’s ecosystem. The smart city as a concept implies the creation of e-services that facilitate the lives of citizens. The transition of cities towards becoming smart involves changing the role of all social actors (citizens, service providers and local authorities) from passive to proactive. Such a transition requires the creation of a climate for collaboration and participation in the process of creating the smart city, known as co-creation. The current focus in the creation of smart cities is on large cities, while the transformation of smaller cities which also need to become smart is neglected. This research paper has its focus on the possibility of the city of Bitola becoming a smart city. The paper is inspired by three smaller cities in Finland that have become smart, which serve as the main research method – case study. The specific examples highlight the role of applying the model of co-creation and point out the university as the most significant actor in the city's ecosystem, which must be necessarily involved in the process whereby a city, in this case Bitola, can become a smart city.