Today, 50 percent of the world's population lives in urban areas. This ratio is expected to reach 70 percent in 2050. This will result in massive carbon dioxide emissions from urban areas. Many people in urban areas, especially in developing countries, will be unable to receive sufficient medical treatment, and they will suffer water shortages. Advanced technologies, such as ICT and energy technology, are indispensable in solving these problems. In recent years, the “smart city”, where advanced technologies play a vital role in realizing efficient city infrastructure, environment-friendly lifestyles and improvement in the quality of life, is attracting much attention. Needless to say, most advanced technologies are developed by private companies across the globe. Therefore, urban development will increasingly depend on these private companies in the future. The role of “the private sector in the public realm” will expand. A dialog between companies and residents is required in order to apply advanced technologies from companies with excellent R&D capabilities, enabling increased efficiency in city infrastructures and improvements in the quality of city life. However, since residents are not aware of how much influence such advanced technologies have on their daily life, this dialog has not yet been firmly established. Therefore, government or local government administrators need to mediate between residents and companies and promote the beneficial use of advanced technologies from private companies for urban development.
