review · Urban Science
Urban development across the Global South increasingly aims to integrate sustainability with smart city concepts. However, cities face pressures including rapid population growth, financial limitations, and critical deficits in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence adoption. A qualitative review of literature and case studies evaluates both the opportunities and obstacles surrounding these technologies in urban management. Findings illustrate how digital tools and artificial intelligence can address specific urban challenges while navigating adoption bottlenecks. To guide implementation, a conceptual framework is established around three pillars: adopting digital technology and artificial intelligence as central elements, overcoming operational and systemic barriers, and identifying distinct application sectors. The work also outlines policy considerations and recommendations for transforming urban centres into smart, sustainable cities.
Rapid urban growth in developing nations often outpaces existing infrastructure. Understanding how digital tools and artificial intelligence can be deployed despite resource constraints helps policymakers and planners design resilient, sustainable cities. Identifying common barriers ensures that investments in municipal technology address genuine community needs rather than replicating unsuitable models.
The research outlines a high-level conceptual framework rather than a concrete commercial product. It highlights potential municipal application areas for digital technologies and artificial intelligence to address urban challenges, relevant to public sector planners and civic tech developers. Drawn from a literature review and case studies, the work sits at an early conceptual stage, offering strategic guidance rather than a deployable technology.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Many countries across the Global South strive to align their urban development with sustainability goals. Consequently, the notion of smart sustainable cities has emerged, integrating the ideas of smart cities and sustainability. The region faces diverse challenges, including rapid population growth and financial constraints. Infrastructural deficiencies, especially in digital infrastructure and AI adoption, add to these challenges. Therefore, exploring digital technologies and AI is essential for developing smart, sustainable cities in the Global South. This paper examined both the potential and barriers to digital technologies and AI. It also explored policy implications and proposes a framework for smart sustainable cities. A qualitative methodological approach is used, including a systematic literature review and case studies. The study demonstrates how various urban challenges can be addressed with digital technologies and AI, alongside the barriers to their adoption. The study proposes a conceptual framework with three key pillars: adopting digital technologies and AI as the pivotal element, overcoming barriers, and identifying application areas to transform cities into smart sustainable cities. Moreover, the paper discusses policy implications and suggests future directions for research.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/urbansci9030072
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