Urban Facilities Management in Smart Cities

Abstract

Facilities managers have the skills to work within a top down strategic level and link to a bottom-up operational levelwithin an organization. This type of approach to managing services and facilities is lacking within a city scale. This is problematic as the regeneration of a neighbourhood in a city environment is not just about the specific location of a space; it is also about the connectivity to its wider environment. However, while city planners use participatory methods with citizens, it is not clear to what degree are citizens represented in final plans. The lack of integration of citizen views in the regeneration of neighborhoods has negative impacts on a city’s ability to reach their sustainable goals. Applying a facilities management top down and bottom up approaches on a city scale could increase possibilities of measuring citizen’s needs for city services and linking these needs to city sustainable plans for regeneration. This paper will explore how specific FM managerial responsibilities have the potential for application on the city scale. Such responsibilitiesinclude workspace management, maintenance and energy management. This involvesidentifying city services to suitable facilities management approachesas well as viewing the potential of digitalisation ofservices in a city environment. It involves workingdirectly with city authorities and developing synergies between them, citizensand the application of urban facilities management. The results will be an outline of what is the role and the requirement of an Urban Facilities Managerwithin a Smart City Vision.Cities can become “sustainable heroes” by focusing on sustainable integration from both top down and bottom up approaches, accounting for both the strategic and operational outlooks of the city.