Integrating Human Needs Into The Foundations of "Smart Cities" the INCOSE-TUS Approach

Cities provide opportunities for people to gather, share resources, and satisfy their fundamental needs. Smart cities use technology to provide services. Sometimes, complex technological solutions focus on the capability of the technology and become disconnected from fulfilling human needs. Yet closely integrating human needs with technological solutions leads to increased complexity. The INCOSE-TUS Framework is a robust, tailorable, and systematic way to view and evaluate a smart city as an integrated complex social system. At the heart of the Framework are nine fundamental human needs as defined by Max Neef (1986). The framework connects human needs to functions of city services and technology. To demonstrate the use of the INCOSE-TUS approach, two partner cities have applied the approach: Darkhan, Mongolia to update policy and San Diego, USA to address homelessness.