Media consultant Dr. Nidal Abou Zaki, Director General of Orient Planet Group, signed his book “Smart Cities in the Arab World and Their Economic and Social Impacts” during the Beirut International Arab Book Fair. The book, recently published by Arab Scientific Publishers, was signed at a ceremony held at booth A22, in the presence of a crowd of officials, members of the diplomatic corps, economic and digital technology experts, political figures, businessmen, and guests.
The book addresses the significant role that smart cities play in the economy as catalysts for sustainable growth. It contributes, in the long term, to enhancing the efficiency of resource utilization through emerging digital technologies and advanced data analytics, providing high-level services that contribute to improving economic growth, environmental sustainability, and quality of life.
The book highlights the increasing importance of cities as urban centers that keep pace with rapid changes related to digital progress and artificial intelligence. It examines inspiring models and diverse experiences of smart cities in the Arab world. It also explores the future of Arab smart cities, focusing on the most prominent experiences, technologies, and techniques used in work systems and infrastructure, in addition to reviewing some ambitious Arab attempts to develop this concept and keep up with global technologies in this field over the coming years.
The book also touches upon several key topics, most notably the specifications of smart cities, strategies and pillars of the transition toward smart cities, Arab smart cities, the project of the intelligent Arab human, as well as the challenges of smart cities and their impacts on all aspects of life.
The book is the product of the author's extensive 30-year experience with the digital economy and smart governments, and his personal experience in launching several significant projects in the Arab world concerned with the digital and knowledge economy, clusters, and smart governments, highlighting a new and unique approach to providing services to communities and improving quality of life.
It is noteworthy that the book was authored at a time when the Arab region is witnessing significant progress in the field of digital transformation and the employment of information technology, artificial intelligence, and digital innovations to improve quality of life and build smart and sustainable cities.
