International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

From the beginning of the 21st century the industrial activity and potential are key factors of urban development just like geographical location. The aim of this study is to analyse urban development strategies in the light of the fourth Industrial revolution. The first part presents the challenges the cities are facing, and the possible answers: introducing a concept to create Industry 4.0 "ready" urban environment and to build Smart Cities. In addition a theoretical framework of urban development strategies is also introduced. The second part is an analysis of the urban development strategies of two Hungarian automotive-industry cities Kecskemét and Győr based on the above mentioned criteria

The Hannover Fair of 2011 opened a new era in the German industry: this is when Industrie 4.0, was first published. The series of innovations and developments in information and communication technology, which in turn affects the economic players, thus influencing regional competitiveness. Industrie 4.0 is an imagined future, which in my opinion if a direct or indirect was will have a fundamental influence on smart cities and their environments and regions, given that their primary goal is improving the competitiveness of a country. In the thesis I will provide an overview of the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum and the Technisches Universität Wien’s criteria for smart towns. I will establish a statistical correlation between the towns and their countries listed in the two rankings. I will point out how dominant the innovations affecting competitiveness are in these countries and how these may facilitate the implementability of Industrie 4.0. Finally, using cluster analysis I will take a look at the factors that contribute to the cities relative competitiveness.