Science Centres: Catalysts for Smart and Sustainable Cities

Abstract

Science centres play an active role in promoting sustainability in smart cities through education, innovation, and citizen participation. This chapter examines how they support funding, public service design, public relations, and outreach campaigns to advance SDGs
and other development goals. They also contribute to problem-solving efforts. Sciencecentres act as public laboratories where people of all ages explore emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. These technologies are becoming an integral part of smart cities. By offering modern facilities, science centres help communities adopt sustainable practices. They also encourage young minds through maker spaces and citizen science projects. They allow people in the community to talk about problems in cities, increase the need for sustainable engineering, and impact policy making from the ground up. As Dean states, “Science centres act as conversation and implementation hubs between knowledge and action, making an important contribution to sustainable urban sustainability.” This chapter also explores the challenges of limited internet access in sustainable city initiatives.