Planning in the era of Information and Communication Technologies. Discussing the “label: Smart” in South-European cities with environmental and socio-economic challenges

The methodology is based on the case-study method, whose sources of evidence are: quantitative indicators, archival documents, and excerpts from interviews with key stakeholders. In detail, the paper focuses on three Southern Italian cities (Reggio Calabria, Catania and Palermo), which have been clustered for similar challenges they have to face, in relation to their geographical proximity and cultural features. Findings show the twofold use of technologies for cities: on the one hand, technology may be perceived as a panacea and Smart initiatives may be isolated and episodic experiments; on the other, technologies may be critically incorporated in complex policies and initiatives aimed at regenerating urban areas holistically, and Smart initiatives may be coordinated and well-connected experiences. Authors argue that the second cases are feasible approaches for improving urban planning in challenging South-European contexts.