Big data and the Internet of Things enable city services to access a vast amount of information not available before, gather knowledge and design strategies for Smart Infrastructure Maintenance, Waste Management, Smart Electric Grids, Water and Sewerage, pollution control, traffic management with smart traffic lights, health control with sensors and control of agricultural production and more rational use of resources.
City public services and businesses are investing significant capital in infrastructure such as the development of fiber optic networks, 5G mobile communication networks, IoT platforms, installation of smart devices and technologies, and as our world is urbanizing, smart city applications are growing into a huge global purchase amounting to 1.4 trillion dollars, which will produce 60% of world GDP.
But because a truly smart city cannot move towards the future without the memory of the past and its tangible and intangible heritage, "Digital Culture" promotes the interconnection of organizations, institutes, clubs, visitors, cultural objects, creates databases with evidence about with monuments, trails, human geography, customs, gastronomy, captures excavations with drones and makes possible digital guided tours and virtual tours of museums even for objects that do not have a physical place to be exhibited, historical sites and monuments, reading rare and old books as well as remote access to archives and records.

In the photo postgraduate students with the director of the program Dimitris Vergados (centre, left) and the scientific director of the Benaki Museum Giorgos Magginis (centre right).

The European Commission defines a smart city as "a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient by using digital and telecommunications technologies for the benefit of residents and businesses". The top ten cities in Europe include large capitals such as London with over 9 million inhabitants, but also smaller ones such as Reykjavik with 123,000 inhabitants.
In Greece there are already five cities that have taken advantage of the possibilities offered by today's technology, so Trikala, Ioannina, Larissa, Veria and Heraklion in Crete are among the "smart cities" of the world. The city of Trikala has been distinguished internationally for the advanced technologies they offer to citizens, with the daily life of the residents having changed as there is digital access to the availability of parking spaces, the status of traffic lights and traffic, water pipes, garbage collection, the system electronic requests and comments via smartphone, and the facilitation of accessibility to services. This improves the quality of life both individually and collectively as residents of all ages gradually enter and become accustomed to IT.
In Larissa there is internet access to city planning, telemedicine services and a communication system for those suffering from depression or Alzheimer's disease.
In Veria there is access to the Public Central Library and the "Help at Home" program, while a settlement is being prepared in the center of the city, which will offer modern services to the 10,000 residents and professionals it will host.
In Heraklion, Crete, online access to 163 information services and 29 online application services and online payments improve the lives of residents, while the city also has free Wi-Fi and the city's newspapers have been digitized since the 19th century.
Finally, in Ioannina, in addition to the wireless network, there is the possibility of electronic applications for various certificates, an online tour of the city, and the exhibits of the Municipal Museum and the contents of the municipal library have been digitized. At the same time, the city, in collaboration with the University of Ioannina, is organizing the "Ioannina smart city Hackathon" with an educational and competitive process that promotes innovation and support for start-up entrepreneurship.