The smart-city concept refers to a city that uses information and communication technologies to increase the interactivity and efficiency of urban infrastructure and its components, as well as raising awareness among residents of, for example, such socially important issues as energy efficiency and decarbonization. The current priorities and strategic goals of cities and metropolitan areas include climate protection, the reduction of pollution caused by the use of means of transport and heat or energy sources. The development of technology and the evolving smart-city concept are in line with the more efficient use of resources, global demographic trends, and ongoing urbanization processes. This results from the evolving potential of cities that the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have set in motion. A change in the way city’s function is a part of the concept of sustainable development, which involves the thoughtful use of resources in such a way that they are sufficient to not only ensure the well-being of the present generation but to also meet the needs of the future. Particularly important is the principle of sustainable development, which involves the greatest possible synergy between people and the world around them. Therefore, the essence of the idea of sustainable development is the pursuit of the well-being of society while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. Studies carried out among inhabitants of cities show that according to their understanding of the smart-city concept, the technological element is as important as the fact that the city is resident-friendly, smartly managed, and well organized, and the entities needed are always in the right place and at the right time. The purpose of this study is to analyze the innovation potential of selected cities of a large metropolis in terms of the smart city concept and 4T capitals. The subject is related to the search by city authorities for new models and tools to shape sustainable development in order to improve their residents’ access to municipal services and amenities, as well as to increase their influence on the future of their cities in such difficult ongoing processes as decarbonization.

Smart cities are usually distinguished by a large number of projects and programs related to the application of smart technologies. The main challenge faced by such dynamically developing organizations as cities is to create and, most importantly, implement strategies that contribute to attracting and retaining entities that initiate smart growth in the city. Such entities include residents with high skills and socioeconomic competences, businesses and institutions that create and implement knowledge, investors who instill new models of business activity, as well as visitors who contribute to the creation of personal relations between the city’s community and its surroundings. Cities following the path of smart growth must also face the challenge of building a new quality of life for different social groups. It is necessary to constantly study the correlation between the transformation of the quality of life and potential 4T resources. Metropolises with high ratios trust, tolerance, talent, and technology attract highly skilled and creative workers, people from the world of culture and art, and investors. Such places, thanks to such potential, become the best developing cities that successfully face the very quickly changing reality.

Expectations are changing, for example, with regards to the procurement of energy, the speed of RES development, the innovation of energy projects, changes in source technologies, and energy storage. This is done through the introduction of new technologies and processes in the energy sector, the renewable energy sector, from consumers to prosumers, including cognitive technologies, and the continuous improvement of efficiency and competitiveness. If the above changes are made with care for the environment and the conscious use of resources, we can consider this as smart and sustainable development at the same time.

Sustainable development is currently the best tool for achieving specific economic or invest- ment goals, with particular attention to the environment in which we work and our impact upon it. Tools to support sustainable development include the current phase of innovation and invention, the implementation of the smart-city concept the fourth industrial revolution, and the “Digital Economy”