Comment sont financés les projets publics urbains? Application aux smart cities belges

Abstract

Today, urban areas represent the heart of the global economy. Indeed, for many years, we can observe a phenomenon of rural exodus. Today, about 4,46 billion people live in cities and will have to face colossal challenges. Indeed, it is necessary to change lifestyle, to try to overcome difficulties such as climate change, management of energy and natural resources, pollution, etc. In a situation where the technological revolution is very important, a new trend emerges to try to solve these problems. The solution lies in using new technologies within urban structures to deal with all these challenges. This phenomenon is better known as Smart Cities projects and aims at improving citizens’ living conditions. However, to implement such projects, it is mandatory to find a way to fund them. This thesis deals with how Smart projects are funded in Belgium and aims at understanding why some financing tools are used more than others. To do so, this thesis is divided in several parts. First, a theoretical part, which consists in a review of the literature which will contain several definitions of the Smart City. Then, the second part which talks about the financing tools that are available to fund Smart projects. The third part will consist in a practical analysis, conducted through a questionnaire with people who work in the municipalities of Marche-en-Famenne, Namur, Mons, Ath and Tournai.