Imagine a city built on renewable energy, smart home management, cloud computing, and sustainable building designs. It might seem like an image from the future, but in reality, it is the upcoming future of cities, and to name it more appropriately, Smart Cities.

Smart Cities are the new uprising models for future cities around the globe. Featuring a myriad of advancements in our current civilization, Smart Cities are the actual tomorrow we live in. Smart Cities will feature computational advancements that include data analysis and the role of technology in developing these Smart Cities. In addition, having a renewable energy source as well as developing energy-efficient optimization methods to conserve the energy resources needed to create the infrastructure of the currently emerging smart cities are some of the numerous obstacles yet basis for creating these astounding smart cities.

With the globally-increased importance of Smart Cities and following the success of the previous edition of IEREK's International Conference on Future Smart Cities, the 7^th edition will cover everything from understanding the significance of building sustainable smart cities to the challenges that might be faced during the implementation of these smart cities.

The conference will open the doors for researchers and specialists from across the globe to discuss contemporary models and techniques for building smart cities and maintaining energy and other means to sustain life for future generations.

• 1. Identifying and Shaping Cities and Formation

  1-1 Cities with Religious and Cultural Theme

  1-2 City Structure, Features, and Elements

  1-3 The City's Image and Self-Identity

  1-4 Transition to Smart Cities: Structure and Transformation

  1-5 Advances in Technologies of City Planning and Development

  1-6 Urban Growth, Morphology, and their Impact on Cities Identity

  1-7 New Development in Urban Design and Shaping the City and its Culture

  1-8 The Influences of City Elements and Vocabularies in the City's Form and Development

• 2. Heritage Arts: Sustainability, Identities, and Public Regulations

  2-1 Cultural Heritage Protection, Conservation, and Reuse

  2-2 Ideologies and Movements: Shaping the City and its History

  2-3 Visual Arts' Role in Documenting Architectural Heritage

  2-4 Branding the City's Heritage Identities and Sustainable Heritage

  2-5 Public Regulations and Efforts in Heritage Conservation

  2-6 Mapping Cities Vocabularies: Ecological Approach of Conservation Projects

  2-7 The Correlation between Architecture and Arts and Conservation of Cities Vocabularies

  2-8 The Role of Heritage Sites in Driving the City Fabrics

• 3. Contemporary Arts: A City’s Visual Arts and Visualization

  3.1 Visuals of Architectural Heritage in the Modern Era

  3.2 The Future of Our Past: Archaeology is Yesterday’s Visual Arts for Today

  3.3 Visual Arts’ Role in Documenting Architectural Heritage

  3.4 Art, Music, and Interaction Visualization Media and Its Impact on Humans

  3.5 The Dialogue Between Ancient and Contemporary Visuals

  3.6 Cultural Spaces and Landscapes in Contemporary Arts

  3.7 Artistic Heritages and Their Impact on Contemporary Arts

  3.8 Contemporary Art in Reviving Modern and Historical Cities

• 4. The Development of Cities’ Vocabularies

  4.1 Planning for Sustainable Context of Re-discovering Heritage Vocabularies

  4.2 The Future of Cities Art, Architecture, and Historical Cities

  4.3 Architecture and Arts in the Cultural Transformation Age

  4.4 The Shaping and Transformation of Successful Case Studies

  4.5 Policies and Guidelines for the Planning and Transformation of Cities

  4.6 Best Practices for Dealing with Historical Areas and Buildings

  4.7 Historic Conservation and Economic Plans for Sustainable Tourism

  4.8 Cultural Spaces Development and Landscapes in Contemporary Arts

A. Online Attendance

All accepted submissions to the conference, after a rigorous double-blinded peer-review process by the respective and a highly-extinguished Editorial Board, will be published in one of the following:

• Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation (ASTI), an IEREK Interdisciplinary book series published by Springer Nature. (Scopus indexed)  

About ASTI

Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) is a series of peer-reviewed books based on important emerging research that redefines the current disciplinary boundaries in science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to develop integrated concepts for sustainable development. It not only discusses the progress made towards securing more resources, allocating smarter solutions, and rebalancing the relationship between nature and people, but also provides in-depth insights from comprehensive research that addresses the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) as set out by the UN for 2030.

The series draws on the best research papers from various IEREK and other international conferences to promote the creation and development of viable solutions for a sustainable future and a positive societal transformation with the help of integrated and innovative science-based approaches. Including interdisciplinary contributions, it presents innovative approaches and highlights how they can best support both economic and sustainable development, through better use of data, more effective institutions, and global, local and individual action, for the welfare of all societies. The series particularly features conceptual and empirical contributions from various interrelated fields of science, technology and innovation, with an emphasis on digital transformation, that focus on providing practical solutions to ensure food, water and energy security to achieve the SDGs. It also presents new case studies offering concrete examples of how to resolve sustainable urbanization and environmental issues in different regions of the world. Read More.

The ASTI series is fully indexed in Scopus and any chapter/ paper published as part of this series will be seen on the Scopus database. Some titles have been successfully indexed or submitted for indexation in Web of Science (ISI).

About Built Heritage Journal

Built Heritage aims to enhance pluralism and criticism in debates on heritage conservation and revitalization with a globalized perspective. The conceptual basis of this refereed journal lies on the fundamental cultural differences concerning built heritage conservation, recognizing these differences as a source for creativity and a motivation for cutting-edge experimentation. It fosters scientific exchange between Chinese and international scholars and practitioners, offering a platform to record the latest developments in the field. Encouraging international authorship and evaluation, it allows for the homologation of research and practice with regards to cultural diversity.

Built Heritage promotes the awareness for built heritage conservation in China and internationally, inviting scholars to reflect on current hot topics discussions as: the role of contemporary architecture in historic environments; the balance between conservation and development; new tools of heritage management; policy, culture and identity; energy consumption and sustainability.

• IEREK Press Journals, a multidisciplinary publisher that aims to cultivate and disseminate research.

Environmental Science & Sustainable Development (ESSD)

ESSD is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal that aims to systematically develop the research-driven curiosity and evidence-based discourse of aspiring scholars that seek to contribute to the academic community. As the world is currently living in an age of information where sources are widely available on the Internet, we at ESSD seek to efficiently utilize the available information to help create robust and evidence-based knowledge. In the process, we offer researchers, in general, and young and aspiring ones in particular a quicker way to get their work published and gain exposure through online open access. We pride ourselves on getting submitted work to be published quickly, through the use of our worldwide pool of subject specialist peer reviewers. Find out more about ESSD International Journal here.

The Academic Research Community Publication (ARChive)

ARChive is an open-access journal that publishes conference proceedings on a wide range of topics relating to social sciences. Consequently, it accepts original research papers on a wide spectrum of subjects. ARChive is a journal published on behalf of researchers that perpetually make an effort to contribute to their fields and provide them with high visibility of research submitted. The series publishes, both, theoretical and experimental high-quality papers of current and perpetual interest. It serves to cultivate, propagate, and essentially archive academic research that has been authored and submitted for academic conferences.

Find out more about ARChive International Journal here.

Proceedings of Science and Technology (Resourceedings)

Resourceedings is an open access journal that publishes conference proceedings. Conference proceedings compromise of different disciplines, ranging from Engineering including built environments, architecture, and sustainability. Disciplines also include Technology and Energy. Resourceedings is a journal that publishes research articles that shed light on different crucial issues in order to provide them with solutions and suggestions. The journal publishes articles submitted by researchers of interest in different fields.

Find out more about Resourceedings International Journal here.

BAHETH International Journal - Arabian Researchers Database (Arabic Papers only)

“BAHETH” in Architecture, Engineering, and Technology, is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original academic research in the fields of Architecture, Engineering, and Technology. The journal welcomes research in the Arabic Language with an English Abstract. Papers submitted to this journal in Arabic must be presented in the English Language in the conference.

Find out more about BAHETH International Journal here.

IEREK has an unyielding policy regarding plagiarism. We believe that copying/taking the ideas and work of other Authors without permission and credit is fraudulent. The Reviewing committee and IEREK employees have the authority to reject a paper during its reviewing process, based on the paper being subjected to either minor or major plagiarism.

Authors must refer to, and abide by, the following instructions in submitting their abstracts/ papers:

Step 1: Abstract Submission Process

• The author should prepare and submit an Abstract of at least 150 – 300 words through the website.
• The abstract should be concise and clearly state the proposed research study's purpose, results, and conclusions.
• The author should select the most relevant topic for the paper from the corresponding conference topics.
• The author can use/download an Abstract Writing Template prior to submission
• To submit your abstract, you first need to (1) click on the “Register” button on the conference page, (2) click on “Submit Now” and:
  • Select the Topic in which you are making the submission
  • Insert the title of your study in the "Paper Title" section
  • Insert the full abstract in the "Abstract" section/upload a file in the .pdf, .doc, .docm, or .docx format
  • Add in writing 3 – 5 keywords that define the field, subfield, topic, and research area covered by the article to help other researchers understand and find your work.
  • Provide the names, affiliations, and E-mails of all authors/ co-authors involved
  • Confirm your submission by ticking having read the instructions and “submit Abstract”

Step 2.1: Abstract Acceptance

• After acceptance of your abstract of at least (150 – 300 words), you will receive a proforma invoice and specific instructions to complete the payment online or by bank transfer (See Conference Fees) to confirm your participation,
• Once your abstract has been accepted, please refer to the important dates tab and carefully review the announced dates to avoid late payment, as late payment comes at an extra charge (early bird/regular/late).
• After successfully completing payment, you will be issued upon request with the following:
  • A signed/ stamped abstract acceptance letter
  • Please note that acceptance of participation, abstract submission, and extended abstract/short paper submissions all have different deadlines. To stay up to date and avoid paying extra fees, or delaying your paper, please carefully review the important dates tab.
  • Receipt of Payment/ Payment Invoice
  • Visa Invitation Letter, if needed
• After abstract acceptance, you may be given the option to extend the abstract to publish your work in the conference proceedings in ASTI published by Springer Nature (indexed in Scopus/SCImago) (optional not obligatory).

  This is not a prerequisite for presenting your work at the conference. Meaning, you can present your submitted abstract without intending to publish your work.

Step 2.2: Abstract Extension / Short Paper (Optional)

• Your short paper / extended abstract should be 4 – 6 pages long and submitted before the paper submission deadline, in English, and fit within one of the conference topics.
• The Extended abstract i.e., the short paper should follow the research paper structure as follows: Abstract (+keywords), Introduction, problem statement, and study aim, Review of the Literature, Methodology, results and conclusion/ discussion, References list using the Paper Writing Template.
• The submission (short paper i.e. extended abstract) should be made following the same procedure followed for the abstract or sent to the conference email.
• Here: Authors may need more pages than the allotted maximum of 6 to insert figures, tables, appendixes, etc. In this case, they can submit regular papers (max. 12 pages) with the same fixed fee. For a detailed outline of the fees, please refer to the payment table in the conference fees tab.
• The conference does welcome Arabic submissions (with abstracts written in the english language), which will only be considered for publication in BAHETH by IEREK Press.

Step 3: Rigorous Peer Review Process (double-blind)

This process can only be initiated after payment completion and confirmation:

• If submitted, the extension (short paper) will be preliminarily checked (iThenticate plagiarism/ similarity screening Software, readability, and scope) and it will be peer-reviewed. If similarity issues are detected, the following will apply:
  • % from all sources: 10-15%
  • % from one source: 3-5%
  • Higher than 30% (all sources): Reject completely
  • Lower than 30% (all sources): Ask for revision to decrease the similarities
• IEREK has an unyielding policy regarding plagiarism. We believe that copying/ taking the ideas and work of other Authors without permission and credit is fraudulent. The Reviewing committee and IEREK employees have the authority to reject a paper during its reviewing process, on the basis of the paper being subjected to either minor or major plagiarism.
• Each paper/ chapter is evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers, after which a final decision by the responsible Editor is made. There is no maximum to the number of times a paper can be reviewed, depending on the quality of the submission.
• If your short paper is accepted by the Editors for publishing with comments/ requested modifications, our Editors (publishing department) will contact you once a decision is made and you will be asked to revise and correct it. After resubmission, it will be re-checked. Note: There may be more than one round of peer review and the decision rests with the editors of the title. Missed deadlines may result in complete exclusion/ rejection from the final publication.
• If your short paper is accepted for publishing without edits/ comments, the corresponding author will be contacted to provide the final version of their chapters/ papers following Springer Guidelines and sign the Springer consent-to-publish (CTP) form to authorize publication in the conference proceedings.
• A back-and-forth process: modifications will be sent back to the responsible Editor/ Series Editor and another round of evaluation conducted where needed. Participants/ Authors should regularly check their emails (Junk/ Spam folders).
• If you are not interested in publishing an extended abstract in the proceedings in ASTI by Springer Nature, please inform the conference support ([email protected]).

Step 4: Extended paper 

• After the conference, the authors of the best papers will be invited to submit an extended version of their research, 8 – 12+ pages in length, (optional) of their short papers for publishing in an edited volume to be published by Springer Nature.
• Publishing your short paper (i.e., extended abstract) in the conference proceedings does not prevent the submission of the full version for publishing consideration after the conference if the similarity percentages (SR%) in Step 3 are taken into account.

Registration

To help the organizers plan for inter-disciplinary dialogue, participants are requested to choose from the conference themes/ Topics upon registration.

They must also refer to, and abide by, the following instructions in registering and submitting their abstracts/ papers:

Types of Participation

1. Attend/ Present Virtually and Publish in Conference proceedings

Organized from the comfort of your own home, the conference offers a virtual attendance option for your convenience. That said, participants will have a chance to present their abstract/research, online, and have their work considered for publication in the proceedings.

Virtual presenters are required to submit an abstract and extend this abstract following the “author instructions” below and before the deadline (see Important Dates). At least one author must pay the registration fee (see Conference Fees).

For any reason, authors may wish to submit pre-recorded video presentations no later than 15 days prior to the conference. Alternatively, they may wish to record a voice-over PowerPoint presentation for submission to the conference organizers.

2. Attend/ Present in-person and Publish in indexed Conference proceedings 

Organized at the University of Portsmouth, UK, offering a Physical attendance option for your convenience. That said, participants will have a chance to present their abstract/research, on campus, and have their work considered for publication in the ASTI Series by Springer as part of the conference proceedings.

See Author Instructions and Conference Fees for more information.

3. Registration to publish in the proceedings without presenting/ attending

If your extended abstract (short paper) is accepted, it may be published in the conference proceedings book in the Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation Book Series by Springer (indexed in Scopus) even if you are not attending the conference. In this case, the accepted work will not be included in the final conference program and the fee will cover the cost of editorial handling and peer-review evaluation of your paper (See Author Instructions and Publishing Opportunities)

4. Non-presenting participant

Non-presenting participants may also wish to attend the conference as Audience Members or Co-authors contributing to an already submitted abstract/ paper.

 A.Physical Attendance

ORCID, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a global, not-for-profit organization that aims to provide unique identifiers for authors, researchers, and scholars. ORCiD effectively eliminates duplication and errors regarding author names, affiliations, previous works, and all related academic data.

IEREK is a proud member of ORCiD, and we contribute directly to their initiative of clear and identifiable markers for researchers and scholars. As the first Egyptian partner to ORCiD in the organization’s history, we strongly believe that by utilizing ORCiD’s database and verification services, we become one step closer to achieving an accurate, and identifiable academic landscape.

We encourage our authors to input their ORCiD ID when registering for one of our conferences, submitting an abstract, or a full paper. By doing so, you directly link your research to your identity and affiliation and can showcase your various academic efforts all in one place. By Registering your ORCiD ID, you also increase your works’ visibility and provide easy access to your entire library of research and academic activity.

Click here to learn more about ORCiD, and here to register your ORCiD ID for free.