Smart Cities – Key Concepts, Actors and Potential Entry Points for German Development Cooperation

The report sheds light on the concept of smart cities and elaborates promising entry points for German development cooperation. To this end, it looks at the social history of ‘smart’, examines the state-of-play of smart technologies and explores different narratives of the concept of smart cities. After that, the authors analyse how development theory and practice has responded to the challenge of smart cities. Finally, the report proposes several entry points for engagement in the field. The study was based on a state-of-the-art literature review, a mapping of initiatives by different stakeholders, and a series of expert interviews.