Age Sustainability in Smart City: Seniors as Urban Stakeholders in the Light of Literature Studies

Izabela Jonek-Kowalska () and Maciej Wolny
Additional contact information
Izabela Jonek-Kowalska: Department of Economic and Computer Sciences, Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, Roosevelt 26–28 Street, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
Maciej Wolny: Department of Economic and Computer Sciences, Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, Roosevelt 26–28 Street, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-28

Abstract: Objectives: An aging population and declining birth rates are among the challenges that smart cities currently face and will continue to face in the near future. In light of the above, this article seeks to answer the following question: Are older people (seniors) taken into account and described in the literature on smart cities, and if so, how? Methods: To answer this research question, a systematic literature review was conducted using the Bibliometrix package in R. In the process of systematizing the publications, the authors additionally used the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method and qualitative text analysis. Findings: The research shows that relatively little attention is paid to seniors in smart cities in the literature on the subject. Among the few publications on smart aging, the technological trend dominates, in which researchers present the possibilities of using IT and ICT to improve medical and social care for seniors, and to improve their quality of life (Smart Living, Smart Mobility). In the non-technological trend, most analyses focus on the determinants of quality of life and the distinguishing features of senior-friendly cities. Implications: There is a clear lack of a “human” perspective on aging in smart cities and publications on Smart Governance and Smart People that would provide guidelines for making elderly people full and equal stakeholders in smart cities. It is also necessary to develop practical documents and procedures that define a comprehensive and long-term urban policy for elderly adults. The analyses contribute to diagnosing current and determining further directions of research on smart aging in smart cities. The results clearly imply the need to intensify social, humanistic, and governance research on the role of seniors in smart cities.

Keywords: smart aging; seniors in smart city; elderly in smart city (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6333/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6333/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6333-:d:1698883

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().