Author: Xinyue Zhang
Supervisor: Mubashar Iqbal
Abstract: In recent years, the rapid development of smart cities has driven the integration with innovative technologies such as blockchain to enhance urban systems’ efficiency, transparency, and credibility. This thesis presents a comprehensive and systematic survey of blockchain applications in smart cities and proposes a toolkit of blockchain options for the diverse needs of smart cities. The study firstly reviews the background of blockchain technology and smart city framework, followed by a systematic literature review of public, private, and federated chains, and analyzes the challenges faced during their integration. Based on this, a blockchain selection toolkit is designed and implemented to provide city planners with references on selecting appropriate blockchain technologies in different smart city scenarios through existing cases. The toolkit is evaluated through three case studies: a small-scale energy grid, a large-scale supply chain system, and a secure healthcare system. Finally, the thesis discusses the practical implications of the research, answers the research questions, and identifies the limitations and future directions of the research. The study results show that the proposed toolkit supports adoption decisions for smart city blockchain technology.