From digital services to anticipatory governance: Integrating institutions through data-driven intelligence
Over the past decade, governments around the world have invested heavily in digital transformation, focusing primarily on automating services, moving transactions online, and improving efficiency through technology. While these efforts have undoubtedly enhanced accessibility and reduced bureaucratic friction, they have also revealed the limitations of a purely reactive digital model. Digital services, in their conventional form, still depend largely on citizens initiating requests, submitting applications, or reporting needs. As societies become more complex and data-rich, a more advanced paradigm is emerging: Anticipatory governance, where public institutions act proactively by leveraging integrated data and predictive intelligence to address needs before they fully materialise.
Edge AI Cameras in Smart Cities: From Surveillance to Real-Time Urban Intelligence
Highlights
- Edge AI cameras process video data on-site, allowing for quicker responses and reduced network bandwidth use.
- Cities use AI-powered cameras to improve traffic flow, spot accidents, and enhance urban mobility.
- Edge AI goes beyond surveillance; it also supports public safety and environmental monitoring in real time.
- Responsible governance and privacy-by-design are crucial for gaining public trust in smart city projects.
Cities around the world are quickly adopting smart technologies to handle growing populations, complex infrastructure, and environmental challenges. Cameras have long been a part of urban surveillance. However, traditional camera systems mainly serve as passive recording tools, depending on centralized data centers to analyze events after they happen.
AE: Abu Dhabi Tests New Smart City Displays
Interactive wayfinding and real-time information displays mark the first step in a broader digital transformation of one of the Middle East’s most visited leisure destinations, aligned with the UAE’s national Digital Strategy.
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s flagship entertainment and tourism hub, has begun deploying interactive smart city infrastructure with the installation of the first two Citix Tom Smartboards at the island’s main entrance points, positioning the destination as a pilot site for a new phase of the emirate’s digital transformation.
IN: 97 percent smart city projects completed in Jammu, Srinagar
Only 7 works worth ₹140 crore underway; summer capital accounts for over half of total investment
Jammu and Kashmir has achieved near-complete implementation of projects sanctioned under the Centre’s flagship Smart Cities Mission, with over 97 per cent of works completed across Srinagar and Jammu, official data tabled in Parliament reveals.
According to the reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 199, as on January 15, 2026, a total of 288 projects worth ₹6,603 crore were taken up in Jammu and Kashmir under the Smart Cities Mission. Of these, 281 projects involving an expenditure of ₹6,464 crore have been completed, while only seven projects costing ₹140 crore remain ongoing.
Uzbekistan seals smart city deal with Pakistan’s Habib Rafiq
Uzbekistan and Pakistan’s Habib Rafiq Ltd. have signed a memorandum of cooperation on smart city development, modern infrastructure projects, and investment attraction, Trend reports via the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade.
The agreement was signed during a meeting between Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov, and Chief Executive Officer of Habib Rafiq Ltd., Malik Muhammad Aslam.