The Impact of Smart City Service Quality on Citizen Participation in Environmental Emergency Situations in District 7 of Tehran City

Introduction :

In recent decades, environmental hazards have significantly increased worldwide. In terms of type and diversity, these events are highly varied and pose a serious threat, particularly to human settlements, especially cities, as a significant disaster. Environmental hazards have consistently been a serious threat to the sustainability of cities and communities, causing detrimental effects on human habitats and widespread economic and social consequences. The expansion of public emergencies resulting from environmental hazards has influenced various aspects of societies, including the enhancement of smart city services. The smart city has emerged as a novel model for urban development, receiving considerable attention in recent years, particularly in the scientific domain. The smart city is perceived as an urban system that integrates information technology intelligence with human ingenuity in the urban fabric to optimize and enhance urban operations. Citizen participation and the provision of high-quality services are fundamental principles of smart city services. If a smart city fails to deliver quality services to its citizens, its establishment holds little value. This places pressure on smart city managers to provide quality services effectively. Citizen participation, as a dimension of smart features, is recognized as an effective method for evaluating service quality in smart cities. Large cities, especially in situations of public emergencies related to environmental hazards, require the utilization of smart city services. Tehran, particularly its District 7, faces various environmental challenges and issues, jeopardizing the city’s sustainability. This study aims to analyze the impact of the quality of smart city services on citizen participation during environmental hazard emergencies in District 7 of Tehran. The primary research question is as follows: How has the impact of the quality of smart city services and its components manifested on citizen participation during environmental hazard emergencies in District 7 of Tehran?

The present research is a type of cognitive study that, in terms of purpose, falls within the scope of applied research. In terms of the data collection method, it is a quantitative study, and concerning the research type, it is descriptive-analytical from the structural equation modeling (SEM) branch. Regarding the research design strategy, it is a retrospective study, and in terms of time, it is cross-sectional, as the data are collected once and within a specific timeframe. The statistical population includes all citizens of District 7 in Tehran, with a total of 312,194 individuals. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 400 was determined. The research variables include the quality of smart city services and citizen participation in environmental hazard emergencies. SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 software were utilized for data analysis.

In this research, 400 samples were used, 71% of which are male and 29% are female. 3.71% of respondents are married, and 7.28% are single. The majority of citizens have a bachelor’s degree (50%), followed by a master’s degree (21.3%). Most respondents have freelance jobs (48%), and the second-highest occupation is office work (27.3%). The highest residence experience falls into the range of 5 to 8 years (30.3%). Descriptive analysis of research variables indicates that the variable of smart city service quality is at a moderately desirable level (average 3.08), and the variable of citizen participation in environmental emergencies is also at a moderately desirable level (average 3.09). The lowest dispersion belongs to the variable of smart city service quality and the smart environment component (7.37%), and the highest dispersion belongs to the variable of smart city service quality and the smart life component (44.2%). In the main hypothesis section, the impact of smart city service quality on citizen participation is confirmed with a significance coefficient of (0.4/048). The impact of smart energy on citizen participation is confirmed with a significance coefficient of (-2.84). The impact of the smart environment on citizen participation is confirmed with a significance coefficient of (2.58). The impact of smart living on citizen participation is not confirmed with a significance coefficient of (0.07). The impact of smart transportation on citizen participation is confirmed with a significance coefficient of (4.71). The impact of smart health on citizen participation is confirmed with a significance coefficient of (5.175).

Smart cities utilize a variety of technologies for numerous reasons, such as making life in a city more comfortable, safer, healthier, and more sustainable. Participatory technologies, for example, can be considered as an instance of smart technologies that engage citizens in public issues. These technologies encompass a synergy between technology, citizens, and city government, providing a citizen-centric approach to smart cities. Therefore, the quality of smart city services, especially concerning the components of smart energy, smart environment, smart living, smart transportation, smart safety, and smart health, significantly influences citizen participation in environmental emergencies. Consequently, smart cities, by enhancing these components, can facilitate citizens’ access to information and resources needed during emergencies, thereby promoting active citizen engagement in emergency management. In conclusion, the development of a smart city and the improvement of its service quality play a crucial role in empowering citizens to cope with environmental hazards.