ICT Strategy and Analytics Frameworks for Net-Zero Smart Cities: A Conceptual Framework for Urban Sustainability Optimization

Abstract

The escalating urgency of climate commitments has placed net-zero urban systems at the forefront of global sustainability agendas. Smart cities, characterised by pervasive ICT infrastructure and data-intensive governance, present a uniquely tractable context for deploying analytics-driven decarbonisation strategies. Yet existing literature reveals a persistent fragmentation between ICT strategy formulation, urban data analytics, and operationalised sustainability governance. This paper addresses that gap by developing an integrated conceptual framework the ICT-Analytics-Sustainability (IAS) Framework that maps the pathway from ICT infrastructure deployment through AI-enabled analytics processing to net-zero urban outcomes. Theoretically grounded in Systems Theory, the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, Dynamic Capability Theory, and Stakeholder Theory, the IAS Framework delineates five interdependent layers: ICT infrastructure, multi-source data collection, AI/analytics processing, smart governance, and sustainability optimisation. The paper employs a structured literature synthesis across 87 peer-reviewed sources (2018–2023), supplemented by conceptual modelling, to derive testable propositions and measurement indicators across energy, mobility, carbon, and governance dimensions. Critical analysis of existing frameworks including ISO 37122, GreenStar ICT, and the C40 Cities Digital Protocol reveals their siloed orientation and insufficient attention to predictive analytics and ESG alignment. The IAS Framework advances theoretical understanding by operationalising dynamic capabilities as mediators between ICT investment and sustainability performance, while providing practitioners with actionable governance archetypes. Implications for urban policymakers, digital infrastructure planners, and future empirical validation are discussed.