Researchers theorize that smart cities are a new concept aligned with the idea of sustainability. In understanding the significance of smart cities in enhanced sustainability, scholars purport that they are towns typified by residents' ability to securely gather, manage, and disseminate information that relates to their daily endeavors ubiquitously and sustainably. The bigger picture about smart cities is that they are linked to the Industry 5.0 theme, which is associated with personalization or adding a human touch to technological collaboration. The concept of Industry 5.0 begs the question of whether African Americans and other People of Color are indeed humans. If they are humans, for sustainability, smart cities need to treat them as humans by providing the needed infrastructure such as charging stations to allow for development in Black and People of Color-dominated neighborhoods. As a result, the concept of personalization in smart cities can be understood from the perspective of incorporating electric vehicles.
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Over the past decade, the world’s focus on sustainability has sparked the debate concerning Industry 4.0 and 5.0 (Rosemann et al., 2020). The progression from Industry 4.0 to 5.0 is perceivably a move from smart production to smart consumption. Rosemann et al. (2020) expounds on this by showing that Industry 4.0 refers to the overarching design paradigm linked to comprehensive digitization of manufacturing process. On the other hand, Industry 5.0 is perceived as the next industrial evolution characterized by the objective to leverage humans’ creativity in collaboration with intelligent, efficient, and accurate machines (Maddikunta et al., 2022). Thus, Industry 5.0 is perceivably a solution to the shortcomings of Industry 4.0 as it entails obtaining user-preferred and resource-efficient manufacturing. Though the Industry 5.0 concept is relatively new, Sharma et al. (2020) affirm that its assimilation involves adding a theme of personalization or human touch that will allow co-working and collaboration between humans and robots, and this aligns with the concept of smart cities. According to Jo et al. (2021), smart cities provide humans with a sustainable lifestyle typified by greener and safer environment. Additionally, Canizes et al. (2019) note that electric vehicles are an essential part of smart cities since the overall concept of sustainable energy systems helps lessen harmful emissions and improve resource usage. Therefore, this paper will critically examine the concept of Industry 5.0 in the context of how it impacts smart cities and electric cars, particularly the kind of changes to expect and how they contribute to sustainability.
Smart cities refer to towns typified by residents’ ability to securely gather, manage, and disseminate information that relates to their daily endeavors ubiquitously and sustainably. According to (Ćukušić, 2021), the services provided to residents in smart cities are usually facilitated by information and communication technology. Thus, smart cities are characterized by different sectors, such as mobility, smart building, air and water quality, climate changes, and energy systems (Jo et al., 2021). Studies about smart cities show that the incorporation of electric vehicles is vital. The significance of this incorporation is that electric vehicles align with the goal of sustainable energy. In Canizes et al.’s (2019) opinion, electric vehicles are an essential part of smart cities since the overall concept of sustainable energy systems helps lessen harmful emissions and improve resource usage. Therefore, integrating electric vehicles in smart cities will benefit residents, resulting in efficient energy use and reduced pollution.
As of the current situation, the adoption of electric vehicles in smart cities was increasing rapidly and was roughly 5% in 2020 (Anthony Jnr., 2021). On this note, cities in the United States transforming into smart cities project that they will have minimized greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 80-90% in 2050 (Deloitte, 2022). Anthony Jnr.’s (2021) explanation affirms that such occurrences are likely to be achieved if electric vehicles are integrated as important exponents of smart cities. Sizeable investments are being made across the United States, including the introduction of supporting infrastructures that will reduce vehicular emissions and unlock additional opportunities for smart cities. Komninos et al. (2022) theorize that the opportunities linked to smart cities include solutions for energy use, mobility, wider urban systems, public services, and increased citizen engagement and behavior changes. Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles is perceivably beneficial to smart cities since it requires enhanced coordination across networks, consumers, and products (Anthony Jnr., 2021). For example, the smart cities' digitalization of the power grid is likely to amplify the value of services to consumers and other important stakeholders in the energy market. Razmjoo et al., (2022) expound on this concept by showing that using electric vehicles in smart cities is crucial as it challenges sustainability and both promotes and stimulates upgrading the society. Electric vehicles in smart cities are likely to revolutionize operations, especially because they will promote the development of the smart grid.