The gleaming concept of the "smart city" has become a universal urban anthem. From Singapore to Barcelona, city leaders tout visions of seamless traffic, predictive governance, and hyper-efficient energy grids, all powered by sensors and data.
The recent academic findings presented at the 2024 Conference on Renewable Energy Technologies and Modern Communications Systems, however, cast a necessary and sobering light on this global movement.
The research underscores a glaring truth: the path to a truly "smart" city is less about technological triumphalism and more about navigating a complex labyrinth of human, ethical, and systemic challenges.
As a country also keen to make our cities smart, we need to be aware of this. The primary challenge, as the authors highlight, is the profound "digital divide on steroids."
Smart city initiatives risk creating a two-tiered urban experience. For the connected, affluent citizen, life may become more convenient.
For the digitally excluded, the elderly, the poor, or those wary of surveillance, the city can become a place of increasing alienation and disadvantage.
An app-centric government that forgets analog access is not smart; it's exclusionary. This is definitely unhealthy.
The global perspective reveals this is not just a Global South issue; even in tech-capital cities like San Francisco, homelessness persists in the shadow of billion-dollar platforms.
Furthermore, the "vendor lock-in trap" looms large. Cities, eager for quick wins, often partner with single tech giants whose proprietary systems create dangerous dependencies.
These "walled gardens" stifle competition, inflate costs, and can leave municipalities hostage to a corporation's priorities or even its longevity.
True smart infrastructure must be built on interoperable, open-source foundations that empower cities, not enslave them to a shareholder's quarterly report.
Perhaps the most potent finding is the precarious balance between efficiency and liberty. The massive data collection required for urban optimisation presents an unparalleled surveillance risk.
A smart traffic system knows your movements; a smart grid knows your routines. Without ironclad, transparent data governance and public trust, the smart city morphs into a panopticon.
The global perspective shows a disturbing divergence here: some societies may prioritise control under the guise of convenience, while others struggle to erect sufficient democratic safeguards.
Yet, the opportunities, if seized wisely, are transformative. The integration with renewable energy systems, a core theme of the conference, is the smart city's most compelling promise.
Imagine decentralised solar microgrids, managed by AI, balancing load and storage in real-time. This isn't just about efficiency; it's about resilience and sustainability, turning cities from climate villains into pioneers of the energy transition.
The greatest opportunity, however, lies in democratising data. When anonymised, aggregated urban data is made open and accessible, it can fuel a renaissance of civic innovation.
Entrepreneurs, community groups, and academics can develop solutions tailored to local needs, from optimising bus routes to predicting areas at risk of urban heat islands.
The smart city must shift from a top-down, corporate-led model to a citizen-centric, platform-based ecosystem.
The way forward is not to abandon the vision but to radically recalibrate it.
The findings of the review suggest we must: Govern first, tech second: This is where we establish robust legal frameworks for data ownership, privacy, and ethical AI before major deployments.
Next is design for equity: Treat universal digital access and digital literacy as critical public infrastructure, as vital as roads or water. And of course embrace "Frugal" innovation: Prioritise modular, scalable solutions that solve specific civic problems over flashy, all-encompassing suites.
The global race to build smart cities is at a crossroads. One path leads to a fragmented, surveilled, and corporatised urban landscape.
The other, guided by the clear-eyed challenges identified by researchers, leads to cities that are not merely intelligent, but also inclusive, resilient, and democratic.
The smartest city won't be the one with the most sensors, but the one that uses technology most wisely to enhance the human experience for all its citizens. The technology is ready; our wisdom, as always, is still under development.
As Malaysia embarks on the many initiatives identified under the National Smart City Framework, it is wise to recalibrate our approach.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Dr Ahmad Ibrahim
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: New Straits Times , 11.01.2026
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