The inequities of being smart: Uneven development and smart city technology adoption

To understand whether smart city technology adoption replicates historic patterns of uneven development on both global and local levels, we examine if a city's relative wealth explains differences in the types of smart city technologies adopted. To answer our research questions, we created a novel dataset of 127 cities worldwide, analyzing planning documents and secondary sources. We grouped 70 different smart city policy options into six broad categories and then investigated how these policies vary according to city wealth, assessed city income using indicators from the World Bank and the UN Human Development Index. Our findings reveal a strong connection between city income level and smart city technology adoption patterns, with higher income cities implementing more technology policies than their lower-income peers, thus largely mirroring global inequalities. However, we also observe that higher-income cities are more inclined to adopt policies focused on equity, environmental sustainability, and data transparency aimed at reducing intra-urban disparities. Based on these findings, we postulate that—as cities continue their economic development and increase their municipal capacities—they may allocate more resources to tackling local inequities in line with their current higher-income peers. Consequently, we find that smart city policy adoption increases global unevenness in the short term; however, we acknowledge that technology adoption has the potential to reduce both local and global disparities over the long run. • Higher-income cities implement significantly more smart city technologies than lower-income ones, reinforcing long-standing patterns of uneven development. • Higher income cities adopt smart city policies that emphasize equity, sustainability, and transparency, while their lower income cities prioritize infrastructure, security, and development. • Regardless of wealth, nearly all cities adopt basic “entry-level” technologies, which are cost-effective and foundational. • While smart city initiatives can help reduce intra-urban inequities within higher-income cities, they also risk widening global disparities. • As lower-income cities' income and capacities grow, they may eventually adopt more equity- and participation-oriented smart city policies.