# Smart City Actions Integrated into Urban Planning:  
Management of Urban Environments by Thematic Areas  
[PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]  
1  
1 Production Engineering Graduate Program, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Av. Roraima, n* 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, Brazil; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.N.J. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.B.F. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.F.B.N.) 2  
[PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]  
1  
1 Production Engineering Graduate Program, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Av. Roraima, n* 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, Brazil; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.N.J. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.B.F. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.F.B.N.) 2  
Footnote 1: [[https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci](https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci)]([https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci](https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci))  
Footnote 2: [[https://www.mdpi.com/journals/pdf/1](https://www.mdpi.com/journals/pdf/1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/journals/pdf/1](https://www.mdpi.com/journals/pdf/1))  
services' interactivity, mobility, and security [5]. For [6], developing smart city actions and applying the internet of things (IoT) to an urban context are potential strategies for the management and planning of information and communications technologies' demands. Technologies used to improve urban management, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, urban mobility, environmental management, and public safety, have contributed to the management of sustainable solutions in cities. For technological innovations, the IoT has emerged as a main driver of smart city initiatives. IoT-enabled systems catalyze transformations, promoting improvements for human life in urban spaces [7]. The term smart city was introduced to the scientific community by [8], highlighting technological contributions to the creation of sustainable solutions through public and private sector initiatives, emphasizing the integration of social, environmental, and economic aspects to improve quality of life and socioeconomic development in urban environments. As cities continue to face urban growth challenges, to improve quality of life, urban stakeholders are considering implementing sustainable solutions with innovative technology support associated with reduced emissions, a safer environment, and cleaner cities. Smart city actions require technological tools, as well as appropriate governance strategies, structures, and standards, derived from urban stakeholders' experiences and knowledge, as well as other cities' successfully implemented actions [9]. Recent smart city trends show the need for integrated and synergistic decision-making between sectoral city areas to choose applications and solutions aimed at the main urbanization challenges, looking to integrate city planning and management [10]. The identification of thematic areas is essential for mapping and diagnosing actions to be implemented in smart cities' planning and development. This research measures the impact of thematic areas on smart cities' urban planning performance. In urban spaces' management, it is essential to understand the relations of influence between thematic areas to structure actions of urban planning [11]. Considering the development of smart city actions, implementing strategies by thematic area is crucial for creating new perspectives between government, society, companies, and educational institutions, all searching for an innovative environment. Smart city actions are developed around six fundamental pillars: smart living, smart economy, smart governance, smart environment, smart energy, smart communication, and transportability [12]. This research considers the smart cities' essential pillars, verifying trends and technological alignments to systematize thematic areas for implementing a management model focused on urban spaces' social, environmental, and economic aspects. Also, smart cities are constituted as innovative urban spaces, characterized by the construction of infrastructure solutions, enabling energy optimization, improvements in urban mobility, and minimization of environmental waste generation.