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A city is not smart because it has more sensors, apps, or data. It is smarter when it uses technology—and non-digital changes—to improve residents’ lives, fairly and accountably. The key question is not how much technology a city deploys, but whether it advances goals residents value without undermining inclusion, privacy, resilience, or democratic control.
What does a “smart city” actually mean?
There is no single technology checklist that makes a city smart. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines smart-city activity in terms of using digital technology efficiently to provide prioritized services and benefits that meet community goals. That definition puts public priorities ahead of the technology itself.
The distinction matters as cities face growing responsibilities. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported in 2022 that cities generate 80% of global GDP, and that more than 68% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050—an increase of 2.5 billion people. UNDP also reported that over 90% of urban areas are located on coasts. These are figures published by UNDP in 2022, not newly measured estimates for 2026; they help explain why urban services, climate exposure, and growth deserve attention, but do not prove that any particular technology is the answer.
The label itself can distract from that distinction. UNDP co-authors noted in 2022 that “The term ‘smart cities’ originated as a marketing strategy for large IT vendors.” Whatever its origin, the phrase can encourage cities to treat technology adoption as the goal. A better test is whether a proposal solves a clearly defined public problem and works for the people affected by it.
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Are smart cities improving life—or adding surveillance?
Digital systems can help cities coordinate services, but they can also expand monitoring, deepen unequal access, or shift public decisions into systems residents cannot inspect or challenge. The result depends on how a tool is governed, who benefits, and what safeguards accompany it—not on whether it uses sensors, AI, 5G, or an app.
In The Smart Enough City, MIT Press author Ben Green warns that technology-first planning can produce “a place where self-driving cars have the run of downtowns and force out pedestrians,” reduce civic participation to app-based service requests, entrench racist practices through algorithms, and enable surveillance of public space. These are risks to assess, not inevitable outcomes of every digital project. But they illustrate why a technical system cannot settle questions that are fundamentally about power, rights, and whose needs count.
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For a city evaluating a proposal, the practical issue is whether residents retain meaningful choices and recourse. A service that is only available through a smartphone, for example, may exclude people without reliable access or those who need accessible alternatives. A data system that affects policing or access to services raises questions about transparency, oversight, and accountability that a claim of efficiency cannot answer on its own.
How can technology help without taking control from residents?
Start with a public problem and a community-defined outcome, then decide whether technology is useful. The International Telecommunication Union’s 2025 United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) framework treats IoT and data platforms as enablers rather than ends, emphasizing governance, privacy, digital inclusion, climate risk, and benchmarks. Its central principle is that “technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and data-driven platforms are not end goals, but powerful enablers for improving quality of life and civic engagement.”
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- Define the outcome. Specify the resident benefit the city wants to achieve, such as better access to a service or more reliable infrastructure. Do not define success as installing a system or collecting more data.
- Involve affected residents. Establish who helped set priorities, who may be excluded or harmed, and how people can participate without relying solely on an app or digital channel.
- Set safeguards and accountability. Clarify what data is collected, why it is needed, who can use it, how decisions can be scrutinized, and where residents can raise concerns or seek review.
- Check whether technology is the right tool. Compare digital options with policy, staffing, operational, social, and nature-based approaches. Often the useful response is a combination rather than a technology purchase alone.
- Plan for the long term. Evaluate cost, maintenance, interoperability, and the city’s institutional capacity to operate the system. Set benchmarks that let the city assess results against the intended public benefit.
UNDP Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub Riad Meddeb and Digital Programmes Strategic Manager Calum Handforth put the outcome-first approach this way: “Truly smart cities recognize the ambiguity of lives and livelihoods, and they are driven by outcomes beyond the implementation of ‘solutions.’” The point is not to reject digital tools; it is to keep residents and public purpose in charge of choosing them.
What should cities measure besides sensors, apps, and data?
Measure whether investments improve services and community benefits, and whether they align with resident priorities. NIST’s framework identifies five key performance indicator areas:
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- Alignment with community priorities: Does the initiative address needs residents have identified?
- Investment alignment: Do spending choices support the city’s stated priorities?
- Investment efficiency: Are resources being used effectively?
- Information-flow density: Does relevant information move through the city in ways that support useful action?
- Quality of infrastructure services and community benefits: Are services and outcomes better for the community?
These categories move evaluation beyond counting devices or measuring how often an app is opened. They also make it possible to ask whether technology is delivering a public benefit—and to compare that benefit with the investment and the city’s stated goals.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare proposals for a people-centred city
Use the same questions for a sensor network, an AI system, a new mobility service, or a non-digital intervention. A proposal is stronger when it connects a defined public outcome to credible implementation, safeguards, and measurable benefits.
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| What to assess | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Resident-defined outcomes and ownership | Which community priorities does it address? Who shaped the goals and has a say in decisions? |
| Inclusion and accessibility | Who might be unable to use or benefit from it? Are accessible and non-digital routes available? |
| Privacy, transparency, and accountability | What data is collected and for what purpose? Can residents understand decisions, question them, and seek review? |
| Climate, resilience, and environmental performance | Does the proposal address relevant climate risks and improve resilience or environmental outcomes? |
| Cost and capacity | Can the city fund maintenance and operate the system with its available skills and institutional capacity? |
| Interoperability | Can the system work with other services and infrastructure rather than creating an isolated dependency? |
| Evidence and operational reform | Is there a clear way to assess results? Does the plan include policy or service changes needed to realize the benefit? |
This comparison helps distinguish a people-centred smart city from a technology-first one. The former treats digital tools as one set of options among many; the latter risks mistaking deployment for progress.
What is a people-centred smart city?
It is a city that judges success by wellbeing, inclusion, sustainability, resilience, and democratic accountability—not by the volume of technology it installs. Digital tools can contribute when they advance those goals, but they do not replace public participation, sound institutions, policy reform, or low-tech and nature-based solutions. “Smarter” is therefore not a rejection of technology; it is a standard for deciding when technology serves the city and when the city is being asked to serve the technology.
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