Decoding stakeholders' demand to map the future of smart communities: evidence from China

Background Smart community development is critical for enhancing community resilience and strengthening collective capacities to respond to public health and other urban crises. A model-based taxonomy of stakeholder demands remains absent, as existing exploration has largely been limited to analyses of single stakeholder groups. Method This study therefore develops a comprehensive classification model to capture stakeholder demands across three critical dimensions: community safety, livability services, and community governance. By integrating hierarchical clustering and K-means analysis of survey data from 1,606 respondents across 32 typical smart communities in China, a clear taxonomy of stakeholder demand emerges. Results and Discussion The analysis identifies four distinct clusters: Cluster 1 (strong livability services demand), Cluster 2 (prioritized safety and governance demand), Cluster 3 (comprehensive demand across all dimensions), and Cluster 4 (weak livability-focused demand). Furthermore, these clusters reveal a consistent evolutionary pathway along a low–medium–high demand continuum. Conclusion The findings provide a basis for public health and crisis governance, enabling targeted strategies that address differentiated community demands and foster more resilient communities.