As the CEO of Blok, a leading player in Cape Town’s urban property development landscape, Jacques van Embden has witnessed first-hand the transformative power of technology in shaping the city’s future. Jacques explores this trend and how, in recent years, Cape Town has been at the forefront of the smart city revolution, leveraging data and innovation to enhance the lives of its citizens while promoting sustainable urban development and environmental conservation.
At the heart of the smart city concept lies the notion of accessibility to information. Historically, understanding how citizens interact with their city was based largely on assumptions and intuition, given the sheer complexity that comes with trying to track the movements of millions of residents. But that’s starting to change thanks to the concept of the Smart City.
Read more: ZA: Cape Town’s Smart City Revolution: Building for the Future
Two recent announcements from Saudi Arabia highlight the growing momentum in that country behind smart city development.
Firstly, MVNO Virgin Mobile Saudi, owned by Dubai-headquartered digital services provider Beyond One, has become the preferred technology partner for Middle Eastern regional technology services company Hitek.
AI Elevates Urban Efficiency and Quality of Life
In recent years, the transformative influence of generative artificial intelligence significantly impacted various sectors globally and dominated the tech scene. However, it’s underutilization is noticeable considering the abundant opportunities in Internet of Things (IoT) applications and smart city initiatives. Various entities have initiated efforts to harness this potential. Such endeavors are commendable, and it is hoped that with leadership from the National Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), in collaboration with related entities, quality initiatives will emerge in this field. The Generative AI Academy can play a substantial role, and SDAIA is expected to excel as usual.
Read more: SA: Smart City Initiatives: Leveraging AI to Transform Urban Life in Riyadh
The index aims to balance economic and technical aspects, enhance human dimensions, and meet the population's needs
Madinah: Madinah recorded an advancement of 11 ranks in the IMD Smart City Index issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in 2024, ranking 74th globally after ranking 85th in 2023.
Read more: SA: Madinah advances 11 ranks in the IMD Smart City Index 2024
Index assesses health, mobility, governance, among others
Riyadh climbed five spots in the International Institute for Management Development Smart City Index this year, now ranking 25th overall.
The index assesses various structures such as health, mobility, and governance, according to the published report.
Read more: SA: Riyadh now 25th on smart city index, climbs 5 spots