# Smart City for Sustainable Development: Applied Processes from SUMP to MaaS at European Level
## 3 The European Smart City Applied Process at the Master Level
### The Smart City Direction of Development  
The transport, ICT and energy sectors constitute the European smart city pillars according to the directives introduced in 2012 (Figure 4). Following the European indications, in the first instance, each of the three sectors is a founding element of the smart city, and none of them can be missing; in the second instance, there must be ever-increasing integration between the three sectors. For making the smart city's approach operative, the European Commission launched the European Innovation Partnership for Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC). The initiative was strictly connected to European flagship initiatives for innovation in the context of European Union 2020 strategy for smart growth [24]. The main objective of EIP-SCC creation was to realize a common framework for minimizing market fragmentation, optimize efficiencies and encourage collaborations among different stakeholders across Europe [26]. Following this method, innovative solutions are studied, regulated and implemented in order to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in European cities. In particular, the partnership contributes for reducing energy and resource consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG), at the same time improving the quality of life of citizens. In the years 2013 and 2014, the EIP-SCC produced two guidelines for regulating and addressing the European smart city process:  
* The Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) [27], which indicates the priority area and domains of a smart city;
* The Operational Implementation Plan (OIP) [28], which specifies the SIP with actions and measures. The two documents constitute the basis of EIP-SCC initiatives, including the calls under Horizon 2020. The main operative tool of EIP-SCC is the \"Marketplace of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities\" (M-EIP-SCC), a platform that collects information about the main policies and smart city implementations at European level. The last advancement merges M-EIP-SCC and the \"Smart Cities Information System\"  
Figure 4: The smart city European pillars. (SCIS) into one single platform, the Smart Cities Marketplace (SCM) [29]. One of the main products of the SCM is a database that collects information about the EU-funded Smart Cities Initiatives (SCIS database) [30]. The SCM platform is also a repository of different kind of documents that can be grouped into the following categories:  
* \"Policy Papers\" that identify the main challenges starting from a state-of-the-art process for formulating recommendations for future implementation; these documents are useful for policy makers and stakeholders involved in smart city projects;
* \"SCIS Essential Monitoring Guides\" that provide the preparation for the \"Self-Reporting Tool\", collecting key performance indicators (KPIs) measuring the results of EU SCC projects;
* \"CONCERTO publications archive\" that collects information about the European Research Framework Programs FP6 and FP7; the H2020 project is archived in the SCIS database. Smart city solutions are complex urban interventions involving stakeholders with different interests and roles. It requires the \"multi-aspectual\" integration for defining a long-term vision, or a road map useful to overcome the barriers. Private companies and public authorities often follow short-term cycles for deciding their investments. The smart city approach requires a behavioral change for adapting their choices to emerging challenges. According to the three processes introduced in Section 2, the theory is developed in the research centers and published in scientific journal, and the rules and the implementations are in the SCM, where information is collected.