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The term “smart City” brings about different images to different people： it could be a city where litter does not exist； a city where there is absolute order and security； or a city where everything works…on time！ It could be a city composed of academic wizards， complicated gadgets and gizmos and all inventions never imagined before.
Globally， the Smart City concept has been adopted， encompassing three broad characteristics.
Smart City characteristics
First， a Smart City is a city that stems from the integration of contemporary technology and design in the efficient and sustainable distribution of public goods. They are cities “seeking to address public issues via ICT（information communication technology）-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder， municipally based partnership，” as defined by the European Parliament Economic and Scientific Policy Department. Latest predictions state that in 2014， 15 percent of cities in the world will be in the opportunistic stage of Smart City maturity， which comes about through continuous improvements in a city enabled by ICT enhancements.
Second， Smart Cities balance both hard infrastructure or “bricks and mortar” （such as buildings and roads）， with soft infrastructure or “brains and creativity”（such as leadership， education and innovation）， and it is particularly the latter， coupled with the creation and retention of human capital and talent in cities， that is increasingly underpinning the growth of smarter city economies. A city’s citizenry and internal and external interconnectivity form part of the core components of the existence of Smart Cities.
A third key characteristic of a Smart City is its focus on creating environmentally conscious urban ecosystems. Some of the innovations of Smart Cities toward creating a “green” local economy are embedded in the energy and water management systems， health and safety， mobility services， payment system and maintenance management systems. In Japan， for example， the term Smart City is synonymous with an “Environmentally Symbiotic City.”
China connection
Through a change in the focus of African government policies but arguably also their ongoing engagement with Chinese Government stakeholders， state-owned enterprises （SOEs） and private firms， African cities have been gearing up to become “smarter”through increased investments in ICT， hard and soft infrastructure， as well as more advanced and sustainable management systems. In this light， innovation and development in the ICT space is quintessential and a key building block for creating better functioning， more competitive and advanced cities. And China has played a key role both in financing enabling infrastructure， including ICT infrastructure， and providing ICT and IT related equipment as well as solutions to Africa. The leading Chinese firms in Africa in this regard are Huawei and ZTE whose footprints have benefited the African continent， not only in advancing telecommunication solutions， but by also empowering African talent through job creation. Research previously conducted by the World Bank in 2008 estimated that about 17 percent of Chinese infrastructure commitments between 2000 and 2007 were ICT-focused. In 2012 alone， China committed $13.4 billion （64 percent of total financing to the continent） on various infrastructural projects in Africa， making it Africa’s biggest infrastructure financier. A number of African countries with strong relations with China such as Ethiopia， Ghana and Kenya are increasingly forward-looking and are positioning their cities to become smarter by developing competitive ICT and innovation hubs. In close proximity to Nairobi， Konza City and Tatu City are the emerging Smart Cities in Kenya. The two cities are a product of both government-led and private-sector-led initiatives which are targeting businesses and talent from across various sectors.Advised by an international team of experts which drew on best practices from the UK and China， smart technologies will form the basis of the Smart City ecosystem. These cities are expected to not only import but also export innovations， including mobile money and crowd-sourcing among others.
Similar developments are visible in Ethiopia， with the development of Ethio ICT Park in Addis Ababa； but also ActivSpaces in Cameroon； TecHub in Lagos， Nigeria； the Botswana innovation hub in Gaborone and Hope City in Accra， Ghana. Plans in West Africa for the latter $10 billion IT hub in Dunkonaa， a suburb of Accra， are underway to rival Konza City in East Africa.
The developments in ICT hubs such as those in Konza， Tatu and others are expected to have positive spillovers for African civil society in various ways. This includes， specifically， the ability to more effectively address issues of poverty and malnutrition， poor health， sanitation and lack of basic amenities such as clean water and energy. For example， technology is already being used for mapping geo-trails， which can assist governments to better understand the densities and needs of areas， and monitor and address issues of fast-expanding slums. In Tanzania， the Ground Truth Initiative saw community members and urban planning students team up to do just that. This generated a better record of urbanization and provided a visual of the size and needs of the people in these areas for government.
ICT driver
As more African cities increasingly try to improve the networked connection between everyday objects， which now include smart phones and tablets， social media， broadband that is becoming faster and real-time instrumentation， local and national African governments continue to face challenges which hinder progress toward widespread development of these fast-expanding hubs. Pull factors such as employment， education and improved living conditions coupled with population growth place pressure on local governments， tasked with accommodating migrant populations in growing cities and ensuring to create an environment that is ultimately enabling to private business growth and employment creation.
A lot is to be learnt from how China is developing its Smart Cities to meet the demographic pressures that are arising due to increased rural-urban migration. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development （MOHURD） in China has selected 193 local governments and economic development zones as official Smart City pilot project sites. An estimated investment of about $320 billion will be made available through both the government and private investors in the sector and engagement with local and international telecommunication firms such as Huawei， ZTE and Cisco to drive the Smart City projects in China.
Looking at Africa， beyond hard infrastructure investment， softer investments， particularly in building human capital and attracting talent will be crucial to cities’ development. Africa’s current rural-to-urban transition will need to translate into human capital mobilization for the so often noted “demographic dividend” to take shape in building smarter and ultimately sustainable African cities.
Ultimately linking ICT developments， greater technological diffusion and improved ways of doing things to the ability to build and nurture talent in city locations， will be the tipping point for the Smart City concept to be more than just an idea for Africa. Only then will African cities truly be able to start competing and looking to rank among the increasing number of Smart Cities globally.
Globally， the Smart City concept has been adopted， encompassing three broad characteristics.
Smart City characteristics
First， a Smart City is a city that stems from the integration of contemporary technology and design in the efficient and sustainable distribution of public goods. They are cities “seeking to address public issues via ICT（information communication technology）-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder， municipally based partnership，” as defined by the European Parliament Economic and Scientific Policy Department. Latest predictions state that in 2014， 15 percent of cities in the world will be in the opportunistic stage of Smart City maturity， which comes about through continuous improvements in a city enabled by ICT enhancements.
Second， Smart Cities balance both hard infrastructure or “bricks and mortar” （such as buildings and roads）， with soft infrastructure or “brains and creativity”（such as leadership， education and innovation）， and it is particularly the latter， coupled with the creation and retention of human capital and talent in cities， that is increasingly underpinning the growth of smarter city economies. A city’s citizenry and internal and external interconnectivity form part of the core components of the existence of Smart Cities.
A third key characteristic of a Smart City is its focus on creating environmentally conscious urban ecosystems. Some of the innovations of Smart Cities toward creating a “green” local economy are embedded in the energy and water management systems， health and safety， mobility services， payment system and maintenance management systems. In Japan， for example， the term Smart City is synonymous with an “Environmentally Symbiotic City.”
China connection
Through a change in the focus of African government policies but arguably also their ongoing engagement with Chinese Government stakeholders， state-owned enterprises （SOEs） and private firms， African cities have been gearing up to become “smarter”through increased investments in ICT， hard and soft infrastructure， as well as more advanced and sustainable management systems. In this light， innovation and development in the ICT space is quintessential and a key building block for creating better functioning， more competitive and advanced cities. And China has played a key role both in financing enabling infrastructure， including ICT infrastructure， and providing ICT and IT related equipment as well as solutions to Africa. The leading Chinese firms in Africa in this regard are Huawei and ZTE whose footprints have benefited the African continent， not only in advancing telecommunication solutions， but by also empowering African talent through job creation. Research previously conducted by the World Bank in 2008 estimated that about 17 percent of Chinese infrastructure commitments between 2000 and 2007 were ICT-focused. In 2012 alone， China committed $13.4 billion （64 percent of total financing to the continent） on various infrastructural projects in Africa， making it Africa’s biggest infrastructure financier. A number of African countries with strong relations with China such as Ethiopia， Ghana and Kenya are increasingly forward-looking and are positioning their cities to become smarter by developing competitive ICT and innovation hubs. In close proximity to Nairobi， Konza City and Tatu City are the emerging Smart Cities in Kenya. The two cities are a product of both government-led and private-sector-led initiatives which are targeting businesses and talent from across various sectors.Advised by an international team of experts which drew on best practices from the UK and China， smart technologies will form the basis of the Smart City ecosystem. These cities are expected to not only import but also export innovations， including mobile money and crowd-sourcing among others.
Similar developments are visible in Ethiopia， with the development of Ethio ICT Park in Addis Ababa； but also ActivSpaces in Cameroon； TecHub in Lagos， Nigeria； the Botswana innovation hub in Gaborone and Hope City in Accra， Ghana. Plans in West Africa for the latter $10 billion IT hub in Dunkonaa， a suburb of Accra， are underway to rival Konza City in East Africa.
The developments in ICT hubs such as those in Konza， Tatu and others are expected to have positive spillovers for African civil society in various ways. This includes， specifically， the ability to more effectively address issues of poverty and malnutrition， poor health， sanitation and lack of basic amenities such as clean water and energy. For example， technology is already being used for mapping geo-trails， which can assist governments to better understand the densities and needs of areas， and monitor and address issues of fast-expanding slums. In Tanzania， the Ground Truth Initiative saw community members and urban planning students team up to do just that. This generated a better record of urbanization and provided a visual of the size and needs of the people in these areas for government.
ICT driver
As more African cities increasingly try to improve the networked connection between everyday objects， which now include smart phones and tablets， social media， broadband that is becoming faster and real-time instrumentation， local and national African governments continue to face challenges which hinder progress toward widespread development of these fast-expanding hubs. Pull factors such as employment， education and improved living conditions coupled with population growth place pressure on local governments， tasked with accommodating migrant populations in growing cities and ensuring to create an environment that is ultimately enabling to private business growth and employment creation.
A lot is to be learnt from how China is developing its Smart Cities to meet the demographic pressures that are arising due to increased rural-urban migration. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development （MOHURD） in China has selected 193 local governments and economic development zones as official Smart City pilot project sites. An estimated investment of about $320 billion will be made available through both the government and private investors in the sector and engagement with local and international telecommunication firms such as Huawei， ZTE and Cisco to drive the Smart City projects in China.
Looking at Africa， beyond hard infrastructure investment， softer investments， particularly in building human capital and attracting talent will be crucial to cities’ development. Africa’s current rural-to-urban transition will need to translate into human capital mobilization for the so often noted “demographic dividend” to take shape in building smarter and ultimately sustainable African cities.
Ultimately linking ICT developments， greater technological diffusion and improved ways of doing things to the ability to build and nurture talent in city locations， will be the tipping point for the Smart City concept to be more than just an idea for Africa. Only then will African cities truly be able to start competing and looking to rank among the increasing number of Smart Cities globally.