Study on smart city in League of Arab States (LAS): status and trend in 2024

This study integrates qualitative evidence synthesis and quantitative, indicator-based scoring to analyzing smart city development, by applying a multi-infrastructure synergized framework to track digital, conventional, and institutional infrastructure in 80 cities throughout the League of Arab States (LAS) and Iran. The study utilizes openly accessible, aggregated data from official government papers, press reports, and scholarly sources (mainly from 2021 to 2024) to analyze and compare these cities, demonstrate how regional clusters function, and identify where disparities occur. The findings provide novel insights into how smart city development has progressed in this region. First, smart city clusters along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea have superior digital and institutional infrastructure, while the Mediterranean and Nile Delta Regions lag behind, due to lower levels of observed connectivity and cross-regional collaboration. Second, Iran, a country commonly excluded from smart city scholarship, presents a case study demonstrating significant strength in traditional infrastructure. Despite low levels of digital and institutional infrastructure development, this foundation has enabled substantial progress in its smart city transition. These findings provide significant academic and policy implications, offering actionable pathways for policymakers to accelerate regionally integrated development.