How can “smart cities” thinking benefit urban planning and development in South Africa? Learning from international smart city approaches

Abstract

South Africa’s cities face numerous challenges relating to socio-economic and spatial inequalities, institutional deficiencies, and fault-lines in the planning system. Despite the manifold strides made by the democratic government to transfigure the apartheid planning and governance system, urban challenges persist. Covid-19 has highlighted some of these challenges and in some instances, has worsened them. Nevertheless, South Africa seems eager to adopt the smart city concept in an effort to address urban issues. This study sought to investigate how South Africa can approach the smart city concept to best adopt it in planning and developing its cities. Because the concept is relatively new in Africa, and in South Africa in particular, the study recognised a great necessity in learning from countries that are already embracing the concept. The study deployed international comparative methodology, which was supplemented by case study approach to probe into Rwanda and Brazil’s approaches to smart cities. The key findings from the two cases were compared in a bid to draw “valuable” lessons for South Africa. It became clear from both case studies that context is important, that is, smart cities should respond to specific local challenges. Context in this regard was however found to extend to the current planning rationale; thus, approaches to smart cities should not neglect the planning principles and objectives as set out in the current plans and strategies. While both countries adopt smart cities within context, and in response to their unique challenges, how this was approached was found to be (justifiably) different. Rwanda approaches the concept within its national vision while Brazil lacks a national vision within which it pursue smart cities. Brazil’s approach was thus found to be proactive and smart cities are seemingly approached in an ad-hoc manner. An approach such as this does not always translate to improved quality of life and in some instances, has exacerbated the pre-existing issues of inequality. In its approach to the smart city concept, South Africa should not neglect its current policy context as well as the vision that was set out in the NDP. In this regard, smart cities initiatives can act as enablers of the national vison –just as Rwanda does. Moreover, at local level, smart cities should respond to the current goals of the IDPs. Bottom line is, smart cities should not set the country on an entirely new track, it should synergise with the exiting plans and policies. To remain effective, roles need to be clearly defined at the onset of any smart city strategy. More importantly, the public should be meaningfully engaged in the smart cities proposals and in decisions making around the smart interventions. This can go a long way in responding to communities’ specific needs.