Modern mobility and adaptation of transport and communication systems to the requirements of the inhabitants are both inseparable elements of the developed concept of smart cities. One of the important stages in the implementation of this concept is the planning stage, taking into account the complexity and a large number of determinants that impact the effectiveness of decisions related to the planning of transport, communication and logistic systems. The purpose of the article is to lay out a model of a system based on the integration of selected Internet of Things tools used in smart cities to support urban development planning processes in the scope of the ongoing modification of transport, public communication and logistic systems. The model was developed on the basis of the cooperation between the authors and the boards of selected cities’ observations made during the authors’ travels and on the basis of identification and analysis of IT systems types and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) tools in use within the smart city concept. The need to integrate IoT tools in support of the smart city concept resulted from the synthesis of previous research experience and the existing gap between the capabilities and the scope of applications of the tools in discussion. The results of the analysis allowed to develop a procedure that in an automated way allows to improve the communication, transport and logistics order in the area of interested cities.

The article will contain a scientific analysis, showing thematic links between publications and consist of searching the data in the Scopus database. The timeframe of the searched publications will be 2010–2022. The parameters should also be narrowed down by selecting the following indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), which was intended to eliminate abstracts of books and conference materials, leaving only reviewed works with the highest level of relevance for furthering knowledge. An additional limit of five minimum citations will be introduced. The analysis included 342 articles. Texts cited at least 100 times were highlighted. The research showed that authors focus piecemeal on selected aspects or problems, so an attempt was made to show thematic connections of keywords, illustrating the complexity of the transformations underway. The discussion identifies the most active authors and countries, especially exploring the topic of a transition to a sustainable energy system for smart cities. The authors have employed scientometric analysis to provide an objective and data-driven exploration of the transformation of sustainable energy systems for smart cities. This approach offers valuable insights into the research landscape, trends, and relationships within the field, which can guide future scientific research and contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject matter. As an additional element of this conclusion, the authors proposed supplementing the scientometric analysis with the foresight methodology. The authors’ research approach is distinguished by the following stages: problem formulation, data collection, choice of scientometric methodology, analysis of advantages and limitations of scientometrics, clustering analysis, data analysis, and presentation of results. Our systematic literature review systematizes the existing literature on the sustainable energy systems for smart cities, isolates main research interests, identifies future research avenues, and provides several important hints for researchers.

As city areas have been experiencing dynamic growth, the efficient development of cities is becoming a priority for technologically advanced countries and for states further down on the list from the global leaders. Smart cities are friendly for both people and the environment, in which life is better, safer, and healthier, the results of a creative approach to developing and implementing various innovations. Boasting sustainable and modern infrastructure and management, ecological city centres are perceived as key foundations of the future. Still, developing cities towards being “smart” is a serious challenge, not just for self-government and government administrators, but also for entities offering technical and technological solutions used for the purpose of implementing the improvements. The research objective was an attempt to indicate the expected changes in the shaping of the idea of smart cities in Poland. The authors’ own research was conducted from 2 August to 31 August. The method of focus group interviews with experts, specialists in the field of smart city, was used. Twenty-three practitioners participated in the study. The geographic area of the analysis covered the territory of the Republic of Poland. The time perspective of the study concerned the end of the current decade. The research process consisted of three stages: (1) preparation, the analysis of the literature on the subject (in which the variables selected for the study were identified); (2) the implementation of focus interviews; and (3) the analysis of the research results. In the last stage of the study, the statistical analysis and qualitative approach to responses were also used (by creating clusters). A network of relations, spanning a total of 3034 connections, was developed from the responses of experts on the fundamental development directions, beneficial factors, and adverse factors. On the basis of the research results, a SWOT analysis was prepared, containing the key beneficial factors, adverse factors, benefits, and disadvantages of smart city development. It was shown, on the basis of the conducted research, that the key development directions for smart cities in Poland by 2030 are: smart and sustainable buildings and infrastructure, smart mobility, and smart energy. The developed results of the analyses constitute an added value and can be used particularly in planning investments in intelligent solutions (identification of barriers and key development factors).