From the perspective of a knowledge framework, this study systematically examines the conceptual connotations, driving forces, content system, and future development trends of smart cities. First, by analyzing the semantic implications of the Chinese characters “Zhi , Hui , Cheng , and Shi ” ,the study reveals their intrinsic correspondence with four dimensions-informational, humanistic, physical, and social spaces—thus clarifying the underlying logic of smart cities as “data-driven, people-centered, city-anchored, and market-oriented.” Second, it identifies three major drivers of smart city development, namely sensing and computing, spatial intelligence, and social governance. Furthermore, the paper constructs a multidimensional content system across cognitive, technological, and application levels, encompassing “one overarching goal, two core problem domains, three spatial dimensions, four architectural layers, five data blocks, six cognitive perspectives, seven technology categories, eight operational patterns, nine disciplinary foundations, and ten application scenarios,” thereby providing a structured lens for understanding the complexity of smart city systems. Building on this framework, the study explores future directions such as holistic digital-intelligent transformation, people-centered governance, spatiotemporal intelligence, and urban digital twins. The proposed framework not only offers theoretical grounding for understanding the evolution of smart city systems, but also provides structured references for technology development, institutional design, and scenario-based implementation.
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