The path to the smart and sustainable development of Brno in the context of a Smart City

This thesis aims to research the perception and attitudes of Brno residents towards the Smart City concept and its implementation. The main objective is to find out the citizens' awareness of the initiatives of the City of Brno, such as the Brno 2050 strategy, and their opinions on specifically selected Smart City projects. A sub-objective is to identify their expectations from the city, to explore the potential risks associated with the concept, and to assess the level of participation of the residents. The introductory part of the thesis is devoted to the definition of the Smart City concept, its development in the EU, and the position of the Czech Republic in this context. Then, the individual pillars of a Smart City, such as smart governance, smart economy, smart living, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart people are discussed. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the Smart City Brno 2050 strategy and the city's key projects, including the Špitálka smart district, the Brno center for material use of waste, and the initiatives of the Brnenske komunikace a.s., where the author is working with secondary data. Quantitative research in the form of a questionnaire survey enabled statistical evaluation of the research questions. The results of the research show that most respondents are not sufficiently informed about the initiatives of the City of Brno and do not perceive Brno as a Smart city. There was also a high level of disagreement with the implementation of the projects of the Pisarky Carriage and the cable car to the Kampus. Based on these and other findings, the author concludes with recommendations that are beneficial for the Statutory City of Brno and its administrative bodies, as well as for companies in which the City of Brno has decision-making rights.