Introduction
State of knowledge
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become popular for its initiative aimed at the efficiency of the transportation sector. Over recent years, the region has been at the forefront of attracting the latest trends, as well as making discoveries within the sector. Recently, UAE aims to improve the efficiency of its transportation sector through the development of a transport system that is effectively integrated, to ensure improved users’ safety, security and environmental concerns (Zakaria 25).
There have been a lot of concerns about the transportation sector of the United Arab Emirates following the expression by the government that by 2030 the transportation of Dubai will be smart, as well as driverless. The smart and driverless strategy is geared towards ensuring the improved transport sector in UAE.
The primary goal of the smart city initiative is to ensure a high level of efficiency, as well as ensure a low level of harmful gasses emission and reduced congestion in the transportation sector. Such an approach is very important in the need for the UAE to reduce the amount of time lost due to delays, thereby increasing the productivity of the region. Also, the smart city initiative aims at ensuring that there is a 44% reduction in transportation costs in the UAE.
Such an objective can be achieved by reducing the level of environmental pollution thereby saving more than Dh1.5 billion. On the other hand, improving the efficiency of the transportation sector will lead to savings of about Dh 18 billion. The adoption of the smart city initiative is likely to ensure the improved transport sector in terms of security, efficiency and reduced environmental pollution.
Objectives of the study
This study is primarily carried out to deeply explore the concept of transportation and smart city strategy in the United Arab Emirates. Such an analysis is aimed at gaining insights and more understanding of the state of affairs as far as the transportation sector in the UAE and its need for the development of ‘smart cities’ are concerned. As such, the study has several objectives as listed below.
- To establish the primary goal of the smart city initiative in the UAE.
- To find out the challenges facing the adoption and implementation of the smart city initiative within the transport sector of the UAE.
- To find out the benefits associated with the successful creation of a smart city in the UAE.
- To find out whether or not the creation of a smart city in UAE will boost the efficiency, security, and safety of UAE’s transportation system.
Motivation
The United Arab Emirates is a global hub for businesses and over recent years, the region has been experiencing changes in its major systems including the transport sector. This comes at a time when the region is undergoing a lot of developments that have attracted numerous business individuals from many parts of the world.
For this reason, the government of UAE has been working towards the development of an effective transportation system to ensure interconnectivity of cities. Such an approach is aimed at ensuring that operations in the region are smooth (Bakıcı, Almirall and Wareham 135). As such, the government hopes to have a transport system that is efficient, safe, secure and environmentally conscious.
Piro (170) pointed out that numerous countries are working towards having smart cities. As such, the ‘smart city’ concept has gained a lot of global interest. The already conducted studies provide evidence of the significance of smart cities in the economy of any given country. Albino, Berardi, and Dangelico revealed that cities are very important in the creation of efficient economic and social backgrounds for any country (3).
Despite such revelation, there are limited studies that cover the aspect of transportation and the smart city in the UAE. For this reason, there is a need for more studies that focus on this area to provide the necessary information for people to understand the concepts behind the smart city initiative, its challenges and benefits in UAE’s transportation sector (Capra 20). This study is therefore motivated by the fact that studies on transportation and smart city in UAE are few. Therefore, the study hopes to provide a bridge to the existing research gap in this area.
This study is significant as far as the transportation sector and smart city initiative in UAE are concerned in that the results and findings from the study will add on to the existing literature besides being useful academic wise. Such findings will shed more light on UAE’s transportation sector and the smart city initiative by examining the involved concepts deeply, highlighting related challenges and the benefits of a secure, safe and efficient transport system courtesy of the development of a smart city.
Literature Review
The rapid growth in population and the subsequent urbanization have had adverse effects as far as the availability of resources and improved infrastructure in many countries in the world are concerned. Nevertheless, the introduction and advancement of information and telecommunication have had a significant role as many public leaders and policymakers are turning to ICT for better approaches to some of these problems (Komninos 13).
For example, technological solutions are being adopted in various sectors of the economy globally in areas such as utilities, transportation, safety, healthcare and education (Madakam 21; Salem and Jarrar 60). Various studies have been carried out that seek to provide insights on the need for interconnected communities to ensure efficiency in various operations and the reduction in the cost of living to improve the living standards of people (Albino, Berardi and Dangelico 3). A well-developed transport system, smart economy, as well as smart people is all it takes to ensure that a lot of time is saved, life is better, and sustainability goals are achieved.
Over recent years, there have been high concerns regarding the aspect of ‘smart city’ especially in international policies and scientific literature (Capra 20). Despite the increased popularity of the ‘smart city’ concept, there is limited literature on this concept. However, to have a clear understanding of the reasons behind the development of smart cities, it is important to examine the role of cities in the economy of any given country. According to Albino, Berardi, and Dangelico, cities are very important in the creation of efficient economic and social backgrounds for any country (3).
In light of this, it is evident that the smart city initiative is very important in ensuring sustainable development in a country (Piro 170). This is based on the fact that cities have an energy consumption of between 60% and 80%, and account for the highest percentage of emission of greenhouse gases (Salem 24). As such, the development of smart cities ensures a reduction of the number of greenhouse gases released to the environment, development of safe and secure transport systems, as well as an increased level of people’s living standards (Albino, Berardi and Dangelico 3). Such a state of affairs explains why the government of the UAE has been working towards the development of a smart city and an effective transportation system.
A ‘smart city’ is considered to be a city that takes consideration of features of urban environment whereby ICT systems provide the necessary support to offer services that are highly innovative and advanced to ensure improved standards of living (Piro 169). A smart city comprises of platforms that make the use of new technologies, to ensure numerous domains adopt secure and ubiquitous applications like intelligent transportation systems, public administration, e-government, management of water, energy, environment, and building and urban planning.
Bulu noted that the development of a smart city in any given country can be very instrumental in ensuring that the concerned city is highly competitive, thereby creating the necessary platforms towards attracting global companies (64). As such, in the case of UAE, the development of a smart city will ensure that the objectives of the region of ensuring an efficient regional hub for global business are achieved.
From the perspective of digital transformation, UAE has been ranked high for taking risks, with the recent initiative of developing a smart city being a clear example of such risks (Mylonas and Theodoridis 95). As such, in the case of UAE, there is a need to improve the transportation sector given that the region has been attracting global companies over the past decades (Madichie 34). This has seen the region adopt cutting-edge approaches to enhance digital governance as well as use various technologies to develop better platforms to ensure sustainable development and improved living standards of people.
The objectives of UAE in the creation of a smart city are based on the need to have an expanded avenue to use various digital platforms to achieve sustained development, create better-governing systems, as well as appropriate public wellbeing (Salem 3). Considerable progress has been noted in the initial stages of implementing the initiative by generating public value as well as setting up measures for the strong foundation of the smart city initiative.
Even though limited studies are touching on the transportation and smart city initiative in UAE, the objectives of this project, as well as its potential, indicate a bright future for UAE in terms of sustainability and efficiency of operations.
This is based on the fact that the creation of an efficient transportation sector in the country through the smart city initiative is likely to attract numerous businesses from various parts of the world and hence, ensure regional development and economic growth (Ibrahim and Al Falasi 562). However, Madichie and Madichie (63) asserted that achieving the objectives of a smart city in UAE is challenging. For this reason, the UAE requires a leadership approach founded on the need to develop a digital-age region that envisions collaborative and networked governance.
Research Methodology
The success of any given study is highly dependent on the approaches adopted by the researcher in terms of selecting the right research design and methodology. A study design outlines the plan that a researcher follows in executing a given study, while on the other hand, the research methodology comprises of any techniques and strategies that a researcher adopts in the process of gathering and analyzing the required data on a given research phenomenon.
Various research designs can be used in any study. However, in this study, the explorative research design is preferred because it offers the grounds to gain a deeper understanding of a given research phenomenon. For this reason, the use of the explorative research design, in this case, provides the platform to gather the necessary insights about the transportation and smart city initiative in UAE.
The study uses primary and secondary data to gain an understanding of the research phenomenon. As such, a survey is carried out on selected individuals. Random and purposive sampling techniques are used whereby the random sampling method ensured the inclusiveness of the sample size, while the purposive sampling ensured that individuals with the right information on UAE’s transportation and smart city initiative were selected for the survey.
Research questions
Research questions are considered to be useful in the exploration of a given study phenomenon to gain a deeper understanding based on the objectives of the study. In the case of the current study, research questions are used to provide a platform to understand the concept of transportation and smart city in the UAE. For this reason, various research questions as listed below are used.
- What is the primary goal of the smart city initiative in the UAE?
- Are there any challenges facing the adoption and implementation of the smart city initiative within the transport sector of UAE?
- What are the benefits associated with the successful creation of a smart city in UAE?
- Is there a significant relationship between the creation of a smart city in UAE and the efficiency, security, and safety of UAE’s transportation system?
Research framework
The study examines the transportation system of the UAE concerning the adoption of the Smart City initiative. As such, the qualitative research model is applicable in this case since the study focuses on the need to find out whether the creation of the smart city in UAE will improve the sector in terms of efficiency, safety, and security. Therefore, the dependent variable for the study is the creation of the smart city in the UAE, while the independent are transportation efficiency, security, and safety. The implication is that the study will focus on examining the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables.
Data Analysis, Results and Findings
The study on transportation and smart city in UAE focused entirely on both primary and secondary data to draw the necessary conclusions. The primary data was obtained from 100 study participants who were randomly but purposively selected based on their knowledge of the concept of smart city and the transport system of UAE.
Data analysis
Gender composition of the study participants
As noted above, the study used a sample size of 100 individuals with the necessary information concerning the study topic. The table below provides a summary of the gender composition of the study sample used.
Table 1: Gender composition of the study sample
Age of the respondents
The age of the respondents was a factor of consideration in this case as it was directly proportional to the maturity and reliability of the responses provided. The study participants were required to be above 18 years of age. The table below provides data on the ages of the study participants.
Table 2: Ages of the study participants
Statistical results
State of affairs concerning the UAE’s current transportation sector
Based on the responses, it was evident that the majority of the study participants (93%) had more than three years of knowledge on the operations of the transport sector of UAE. They also were aware of the smart city initiative. All the study participants (100%) had heard about the Smart City in the UAE. On the other hand, 35% of the study participants pointed out that the UAE’s current transportation sector was in a better state, with the rest (66%) highlighting that the sector required continuous improvement to match the growing developments in the area. Almost all the study participants believed that upgrading the transport sector would increase interconnectivity in the region and subsequently boost businesses.
Smart City’s adoption and implementation Challenges
The table below provides a summary of the responses from the survey regarding the challenges facing the success of the smart city initiative in the UAE.
Table 3: Challenges of implementing Smart City initiative in the UAE
Benefits of a smart city in the UAE
The significance of the Smart City initiative in UAE was assessed from the responses provided by the study participants. According to the responses, it was evident that the creation of a smart city in UAE would ensure that people save time, improve the living standards of people, as well as ensure sustainability by reducing congestion and the emission of harmful gases. The majority of the respondents (90%) strongly believed that the creation of a smart city would be beneficial, while 9% agreed with only 1% strongly disagreeing. The tables below summarize respondents’ data on the benefits of Smart City in terms of efficiency, security, and safety of UAE’s transportation system.
Implications
The study has examined various aspects of transportation and smart city initiative in UAE such as a review of the current state of knowledge and, the challenges and the objectives of such a project. The review of the literature has shown that the development of a smart city in any country is highly beneficial as far as various sectors of the economy are concerned (Gupta 79).
For example, empirical research highlighted that smart cities are very important in the sustainable development as well as in the creation of better social platforms and the general growth of a country’s economy (Salem 34). In the case of UAE, the initiative is likely to boost productivity the region gave that the primary objective is to develop efficient transport systems and effective governance systems.
According to the survey conducted, it was evident that the majority of the study participants had a strong belief in the potential of the smart city initiative as far as boosting the productivity and economic growth of UAE was concerned. as such, the participants showed concerns that the development of a smart city in UAE would facilitate saving of time, growth of the economy, better living standards for the citizens as well as achieving sustainable development goals. Nevertheless, the results from the survey indicated that the development of the smart city can be affected by the lack of enough resources such as human capital, finances, and technological know-how.
Limitations and Conclusion
Limitations
Study limitations are any elements in a given study that make it hard for the researcher to achieve the objectives of the concerned study easily. In the case of the current study, several limitations affected the reliability and accuracy of the collected data. First, the study was limited to the use of surveys as the primary data collection strategy. As such, the reliability and accuracy of the collected data were based on the suitability of the surveys to collect valid data, as well as the significance of the primary data collection method is ensuring that the required data was collected from the selected group of individuals.
The survey used was in terms of questionnaires based on the fact that the use of questionnaires allows respondents to provide their feedback on a given study phenomenon based on a list of questions designed by the researcher. As such, the response of the study participants was tied to a set of questions, which to a certain extent affected the validity of the collected data.
This is attributable to the fact that some of the questionnaires were not administered on a face-to-face basis which implies that the researcher couldn’t gain more insights on the study participants from their visual language. Additionally, such an approach limited the information that the study participants provided since they had to stick to answering the provided questions concerning the study phenomenon.
Conclusion
According to the findings of this study, it is evident that the transportation sector of the United Arab Emirates plays a very significant role in the development and success of the region in terms of business. This assertion is based on the fact that an efficient transport system ensures the effective movement of goods and people from one area to another.
The primary goal of the smart city initiative in UAE ensure a high level of efficiency within the transportation sector, as well as ensure a low level of harmful gas emission and reduced congestion.
The adoption and implementation of the smart city initiative within the transport sector of UAE face numerous challenges such as limited finances, lack of support from various sectors, sustainability issues, as well as limited technological resources.
The study found out that there are some potential benefits of the successful creation of the smart city in UAE including the likelihood to boost the productivity of the region through the development of efficient transport systems and effective governance systems. Additionally, the smart city would facilitate saving of time, growth of the economy, better living standards for the citizens, and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
On the other hand, the study found out that there is a strong correlation between the dependent and independent variables of the study. According to the survey results, it was evident that the efficiency, security, and safety of the transportation system of UAE after the development of the smart city was strongly correlated with the creation of the smart city. This was based on the R-value and the coefficient of statistical significance. The statistical analysis showed a correlation coefficient that was greater than 0.05 for all variables implying that there was a significant relationship between the studied variables
However, the objectives of having a better transport system and a collaborative city that is founded on the digital-age governance system cannot be achieved without agility and coordinated efforts. For this reason, the government of the UAE has a lot to set up to ensure that there is an efficient smart city in the country. For example, the creation of the right avenues for a shift in culture regarding the operations of the government is necessary if the objectives of the smart city initiative are to be achieved.
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