Although there has been a significant amount of research focused on citizen-centric smart cities, most previous studies have primarily focused on urban residents' quality of life and well-being. There is limited knowledge on the perception of smart cities, particularly the views and attitudes of young digital natives from China. Using quality of life as a moderator, the objective of this study is to examine the perceptions of China's young citizens regarding smart cities. This quantitative study employed a survey methodology. The scales used in the study were derived from established scales found in the previous research literature. Due to personal and privacy issues, a randomized questionnaire survey was conducted to allow respondents to freely provide their answers and minimize potential bias caused by social desirability. Young participants invited to take part in the survey were contacted either verbally or through email and completed the survey online by using the Wen Juan Xing portal - the most commonly used and authoritative data collection service platform in China. This study found that the majority of reports from young citizens said that making smart city services would positively affect their quality of life. In addition, these youthful citizens argued that the creation of smart cities is a positive development. The perceptions of these young individuals have provided valuable data for evaluating and refining smart city development strategies, enabling city administrators and ICT companies to better engage with citizens. This facilitates the enhancement of ICT-based urban services to become more intelligent.

Long He, Kim Mee Chong, Xinxiang Gao, Tze Horng Tan. Study on the Citizen Perceptions of Smart Cities in China: A Mediating Effect of Citizen Quality of Life. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2023), Vol. 5, Issue 12: 135-146. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2023.051222.

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