# Challenges of Engineering Skillsets Essential for Driving Circularity of Smart Cities
## 2 State-of-the-Art Review
### Smart Cities
#### 2.1.2 Systematic Perspectives of Smart Cities  
The need for smart cities has never been questioned. A substantial portion of the world's resources is utilized by cities; in fact, 75% of the total energy is consumed by cities [12]. This perpetual energy consumption generates nearly 80% of greenhouse gases, which have adverse effects on the environment [13]. This huge consumption, when managed incorrectly, can have profound adverse effects on the environment, with many expert sources predicting that as early as 2030, the damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions will be irreversible [14], which means that there will be adverse effects on the Earth's temperature in the future. Given that cities are responsible for 75% of global CO\({}_{2}\) emissions [15], it is imperative that CE is implemented in the correct way to combat this issue effectively.  
Governments are promoting the'smart city' solution, understanding that investments in human capital, modern ICT infrastructure, and sustainable growth are key to a functional smart city, of which all aspects can be achieved through participatory governance [16]. Section 2.3.2 provides deeper insights into governance, which is a set of policies, regulations, and institutional frameworks that guide and influence the transition to a more sustainable setup. This can include promoting social action and manifestos (such as Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), setting quantifiable goals such as emissions caps and net zero targets for corporations, and, most importantly, adopting the 'Internet of Things' system, outlined in Section 2.1.1.  
Several studies examining all socio-economic and technological aspects show that smart cities are more effective if their innovation potential and knowledge processes are at the highest standard possible [17]. The appropriate technology and infrastructure must be in place to synthesize and quantify the data for some purpose, to make the correct informed decisions based on the context, and to improve efficiency and, in turn, sustainability and quality of life [18]. To ensure that the most innovative technologies are in place and are synthesizing data, it is imperative that the people involved in its transition, design, and installation are knowledgeable about circularity practices and possess the correct engineering skillsets. This further reinforces the importance of this research on this topic.  
The existing research on smart cities is insufficient as it does not focus on the real-life aspects of the implementation of smart technologies. The bulk of the research has been performed by researchers who have never implemented circularity technologies and, therefore, do not understand the different complex challenges faced in its implementation; perhaps, they also do not understand the behaviors of the public, who will be affected by the practices. The aspects of smart cities stretch far beyond smart technologies. Certain skillsets employed by experts in the field would lead to positive developments, as stated before, being transferable across all aspects of the smart city, ranging from IoT technologies to circularity schemes.  
Figure 1: A simplified visualization of IoT architecture in smart cities.