Table 1 A five-step process tailored to each of the four case studies conducted

Compact cities

• Using a narrative framework that focuses on the compact city model and its contribution to the three goals of sustainability as a real-world problem and that provides essential facts about it, including relevant background information

• Introducing the reader to key concepts, strategies, practices, and policies relevant to the problem under investigation

• Discussing benefits, conflicts, and contentions relevant to the problem under investigation

• Explaining the actual solutions in terms of plans, the processes of implementing them, and the expected outcomes.

• Offering an analysis and evaluation of the chosen solutions and related issues, including strengths, weaknesses, tradeoffs, and lessons learned.

Eco-cities

• Using a narrative framework that focuses on the eco-city as a real-world problem and provides essential facts about it, including relevant background information

• Introducing the reader to key concepts, models, and design strategies relevant to the problem under investigation

• Discussing benefits and research gaps and issues relevant to the problem under investigation

• Explaining the actual solutions in terms of plans, the processes of implementing them, and the expected outcomes

• Offering an analysis and evaluation of the chosen solutions and related issues, including strengths, weaknesses, tradeoffs, and lessons learned.

Data-driven smart cities

• Using a narrative framework that focuses on the data-driven smart city as a real-world problem and provides essential facts about it, including relevant background information

• Introducing the reader to key concepts, technologies, and data-driven smart sustainable urbanism processes and practices relevant to the problem under investigation

• Providing an overview of the literature review previously conducted in relation to the study, which delivers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review on the sustainability and unsustainability of smart cities in relation to big data technologies, analytics, and application in terms of the underlying foundations and assumptions, research problems and debates, opportunities and benefits, technological developments, emerging trends, future practices, and challenges and open issues

• Explaining the actual solutions in terms of plans, the processes of implementing them, and the expected outcomes

• Offering an analysis and evaluation of the chosen solutions and related issues, including strengths, weaknesses, tradeoffs, and lessons learned.

Environmentally data-driven smart sustainable cities

• Using a narrative framework that focuses on data-driven smart solutions and their role and potential in improving and advancing environmental sustainability in the framework of the smart sustainable city as a real-world problem, and provides essential facts about it, including relevant background information.

• Introducing the reader to key concepts, core enabling technologies, infrastructures, landscapes, frameworks, as well as urban operating systems and urban operations centers, all with relevance to the problem under study.

• Identifying the commonalities and differences between the two cities with respect to the emerging technologies

• Explaining the actual solutions in terms of plans and visions, the processes of implementing them, and the realized and expected outcomes

• Offering an analysis and evaluation of the relevant solutions and related issues, including strengths, weaknesses, and lessons learned.