Socio-economic effects of smart cities formation

The purpose of the research is the systematization of socio-economic effects of digital technology introduction in smart cities formation. The object of the research is the process of smart cities formation, the subject is the economic relations arising in the formation of smart cities and resulting in socio-economic effects. The research methods are the analysis of the literature on the topic studied, indexed in databases Scopus and WoS and the subsequent logical-system analysis of the obtained data, based on the authors’ previous research. The features of smart cities formation are revealed including the widespread use of social-technological drivers of the digital society development: big data, cloud technologies, digital platforms, blockchain technology, the Internet of things, crowdfunding, Share Economy and others. The socio-economic effects of smart cities formation organized by the degree of digital technology introduction are identified. The waves of technological innovation in smart cities formation, including the establishment of a basis for data exchange, the development of social networks and implementation of artificial intelligence are emphasized. The temporal sequence of socio-economic effects of smart cities formation is defined. Increasing quality control processes, optimization of urban infrastructure, social institutions innovation, techno-economic innovations are pointed out among the main socio-economic effects of digital technologies introduction in the urban environment. The conducted analysis proved that digital technologies introduction in all spheres of city functioning really allows to achieve significant socio-economic transformation. The theoretical significance of the obtained results involves the formation of theoretical apparatus for predicting the coherent development of smart cities, the practical significance consists in the justification of the applied tools for smart cities strategic plans development.