Smart City AfricaEvergreen reading on African urban systems.
A small, curated set of pieces — one per solution — written to age slowly. Each article ends with the sources it draws on, so you can follow the evidence.
African cities are buying surveillance faster than they regulate it
How 11 African governments spent $2 billion on smart-city surveillance kit in 5–10 years — and why none of them has the legal framework to use it. Report by the African Digital Rights Network, March 2026.
Smart-city rankings measure institutions, not technology
The top of every major smart-city ranking is held by cities with mature public institutions, not by the cities with the most technology deployed. What that signals for African urban strategy.
Smart cities are co-designed, not delivered
A peer-reviewed study in Westbury, Johannesburg, asked residents what they actually wanted from "smart city" technology — and how. The answers are concrete, modest, and a sharp contrast to the six-year-old promise of Lanseria.
Drinking water needs a Water Safety Plan, not a treatment plant
Why African cities should organise drinking-water and sanitation services around WHO Water Safety Plans and Sanitation Safety Planning — and what that means for monitoring, procurement and reuse.
Digital public services need an interoperability spine, not a portal
Why African cities should build digital services on a shared identity, payment and data-exchange layer — and what the OECD and World Bank evidence implies for procurement and pilot logic.
Urban governance beyond dashboards
Why data, participation and accountability — not vendor-built command centres — are the real governance product African cities need.
Resilient buildings and the African codes problem
Why building codes — not new technology — are the binding constraint on safe, accessible and climate-ready African urban infrastructure.
Waste, circularity and SDG 11.6.1
How collection rates, uncontrolled disposal and informal-sector integration set the realistic ceiling on circular flows in African cities.
Connectivity is an affordability problem, not just a coverage problem
Why coverage maps overstate connectivity progress in African cities — and what the affordability and skills gaps imply for digital public services.
Electrification beyond the grid
Why mini-grids, stand-alone systems and clean cooking belong in the same resilience plan as grid reinforcement.
Mobility is an access problem, not a roads problem
Why African urban transport plans should optimise for who can reach what — not for kilometres of new lanes.
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