In his February 2021 state of the nation address, president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that several new post-apartheid cities are being conceptualised across the country.

However, there have been a number of questions raised around what a ‘smart city’ actually means for South Africa.

Carshif Talip, expertise leader for Urban Planning and Land Infrastructure at engineering consultants Zutari, says that a ‘smart city’ is a city that leverages innovation to achieve its desired outcomes.

Here, innovation does not necessarily mean only technology, he said.

“A smart city is a city where opportunity, amenity, safety, resilience, inclusivity and prosperity are imperatives, and innovation across financing, design, construction, operations and governance is embraced by all stakeholders to achieve these imperatives.”

The fact that innovation is such an integral part of smart cities makes for a natural fit between smart cities and sustainability, he said.

+INFO: BusinessTech