ABSTRACT
Despite its growing importance, smart city transformation readiness is still an understudied area of research. To bridge this knowledge gap, this chapter identifies the key factors affecting smart city transformation readiness in the context of Australian cities. The empirical investigation conducted in this study places Australian local government areas under the smart city microscope to quantitatively evaluate, through a multiple regression analysis, the key factors affecting their urban smartness levels—a proxy used for smart city transformation readiness. The findings disclose that the following factors determine about two-thirds of the smart city transformation readiness: close distance to domestic airport; low remoteness value; high population density; low unemployment level; and high labour productivity. The findings and generated insights inform urban policymakers, managers, and planners on their policy, planning, and practice decisions concerning smart cities.
