Citation: B˘ al˘ as , escu, S.; Neacs , u, N.A.; Madar, A.; Zamfirache, A.; B˘ al˘ as , escu, M. Research of the Smart City Concept in Romanian Cities. Sustainability 2022, 14, 10004. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su141610004 Academic Editors: Aleksandra Kowalska, Arkadiusz Kijek, Anna Matras-Bolibok and Tomasz Kijek Received: 15 July 2022 Accepted: 8 August 2022 Published: 12 August 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Research of the Smart City Concept in Romanian Cities Simona Bălăs , escu 1 , Nicoleta Andreea Neacs , u 1 , Anca Madar 1 , Alexandra Zamfirache 2, * and Marius Bălăs , escu 1 1 Department of Marketing, Tourism Services and International Business, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500084 Brasov, Romania 2 Department of Management and Economic Informatics, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500084 Brasov, Romania * Correspondence: alexandra.zamfirache@unitbv.ro Abstract: The Smart City concept has emerged in the last decade as a fusion of ideas about how information and communication technologies could improve the functioning of cities. A new concept, that of a sustainable Smart City, is already under discussion. This article aims at analyzing the Smart City concept in Romania. The resulting advantages, but also the difficulties and obstacles that need to be confronted, are considered when becoming a Smart City. When a city wants to become smart, it must consider both the advantages and the difficulties it will face in this endeavor. This paper has been able to take into account and group the four key features of a sustainable Smart City. The authors conducted research in two parts. The first consisted of conducting a comparative analysis of the most important results of Smart City projects implemented in the four reference cities in Romania compared to London. The second, a quantitative analysis, aimed to analyze the opinions and attitudes of Romanians regarding the Smart City concept in relation to sustainability. An important finding of the study shows that over half of the respondents are familiar with the Smart City concept and 41.9% consider health as a priority for investment in technology. The authors of the article propose clearer highlighting and division of cities from the point of view of creating a Smart City. Keywords: Smart City; sustainable development; smart transportation; smart governance; smart waste management; quantitative research; consumer attitudes 1. Introduction In the 2018 UN Report on the prospects of urbanization of the world [1] it is estimated that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050 and that, in many areas, the share of the population living in the city and the number and size of cities will increase [2]. The rapid pace of urbanization and the unplanned expansion of cities bring about important changes to economies at all levels. If the consumption of water, fuels and electricity are taken into discussion, growing pollution with a strong impact on the lives of citizens and the environment can already be imagined. Although only 2% of the planet’s surface is covered by cities, they consume 80% of the total energy produced worldwide and produce 75% of the total carbon dioxide emissions [3]. The high and rapid level of urbanization requires new and innovative ways of manag- ing the complexity of urban living (problems caused by overcrowding, energy consumption, resource management and environmental protection) [4]. According to the United Na- tions (2018) [5], urbanization is closely connected to the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, societal and environmental. Well-managed urbanization can help maximize the benefits of congestion while reducing environmental degradation and other potentially negative effects of an increasing number of urban dwellers. Cities are very dynamic entities that rely on the continuous flow of people, ideas, resources and, in general, the connections they have with other entities in the areas they coordinate. In order to prosper, cities must respond to the economic and social needs of Sustainability 2022, 14, 10004. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610004 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability