Three drivers for cities development: a focus on start-up contribution

This research considers the interplay among new technologies – mostly digital –, new ventures, and the new emerging city contexts leading to support the urban transformation to improve quality of life. The need to provide public services in an efficient and more performative way led to consider such a challenge as a business opportunity for new ventures, thus inspiring the infusion of new technologies in start-ups and spinoffs created to offer public services. City governments lack the right knowledge and resources to do that, thus stimulating and partnering new ventures is a way to achieve a successful city transformation. Several case studies show this new dynamic and the potential improvements to be further achieved, thus mirroring the business opportunity caught by new ventures and the support new technologies can offer to citizens and other city’s stakeholders.