Structuring Smart Cities from an Electrical Perspective: An Integrative Framework

The concept of smart cities has evolved as a response to complex urban challenges, incorporating technological, environmental, economic, and institutional dimensions to improve urban quality of life and resilience. In parallel, the energy sector has undergone significant transformations driven by decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization. Despite these advances, urban systems and energy infrastructure are still addressed as separate domains, limiting the understanding of how electricity systems support digital urban services in practice. This paper aims to provide an integrative overview of the relationship between smart cities and modern electrical systems. The contribution lies in articulating how key components such as smart grids, distributed energy resources, electric mobility, and digital technologies relate to urban governance, mobility, and service delivery. The analysis is based on a conceptual survey, exploring intersections, complementarities, and emerging patterns across both domains. The results underscore the mutual interdependence between energy and urban systems, emphasizing the importance of interoperability, coordinated planning, and infrastructure integration. By organizing these elements within a unified perspective, the paper reinforces the role of electricity as a structural pillar in the smart city context and supports the development of future interdisciplinary research, monitoring approaches, and policy design.