Developing a dataset for smart city development: Systematic analysis and international standards alignment

The rapid expansion of smart city initiatives worldwide has intensified the need for standardized and interoperable urban data to support effective governance, integrated service delivery, and evidence-based planning. In Thailand, diverse agencies and organizations have developed multiple datasets to guide smart city development; however, the absence of a unified and shareable dataset continues to impede cross-sectoral coordination. This study aims to develop a consolidated data structure by systematically analyzing ten major national and international smart city frameworks. Using document analysis, 2268 raw data items were extracted, consolidated through semantic grouping, and refined into 124 core data elements across seven domains: Smart Environment, Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart People, Smart Energy, Smart Economy, and Smart Governance. The final dataset aligns with international metadata standards, including ISO/IEC 11179, ISO 19115, and ISO 8000, ensuring semantic clarity and interoperability. The standardized structure proposed in this study provides a foundational reference for Thailand’s smart city data governance and offers a model adaptable to other countries seeking to harmonize heterogeneous smart city datasets.