Urban quantum leap: A comprehensive review and analysis of quantum technologies for smart cities

Contemporary smart city solutions rely on standardized von Neumann architecture, in which single data units are coded as “0” or “1.” Conversely, urban quantum technologies rely on the fundamental principles of quantum physics, transcending the conventions of the current computational paradigm. On the one hand, urban quantum technologies hold managerial relevance for future smart cities. On the other hand, they are often overlooked by smart city researchers. Accordingly, their value as a breakthrough technological paradigm is still largely unexplored. In this article, we look at how quantum technologies may contribute to existing smart city solutions, including the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, ICT, smart transportation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. First, through a semi-systematic review of eighty articles on quantum computing within the social science domain, we identify two relevant classes of urban quantum technologies: quantum communication and quantum computing. Second, we establish a comprehensive taxonomy of conventional smart city solutions based on the automated content analysis of 567 abstracts of articles on the technological aspects of smart cities. Third, we investigate potential associations between two classes of technologies (conventional smart city solutions and urban quantum technologies) by analyzing the semantic relationships between eighty articles on quantum technologies according to the frequency of keywords denoting different types of conventional smart city solutions. Finally, we triangulate our findings through a thematic analysis of potential uses of quantum technologies within identified categories of smart city solutions.