Midweek Musings 15, 18.03.2026

 Technology for Smart City Governance

Tiled sloping roof augments rain water harvesting. Smart thinking is key to smart city governance, after all!


By Malini Shankar

Digital Discourse Foundation

Much as some of us are so charmed by and swear by simple living on the lines of Gandhian Thought, technology is so wired and mired in our lives today that we can’t do without reliance on technology to run and better our lives.

The current world economic order rests largely on the efficiency of technology – so much do we rely on it these days. These days infrastructure has come to rely on technology so much that we can barely distinguish infrastructure from technology.

Broadband is central to isolated island communities. For land lubbers though ambulances search and rescue vehicles, urban surface transport, aviation, weather forecasting, traffic forecasting for micro and macro planning, logistical infrastructure, AI in policing apps, (Well AI is invading all spheres of the human landscape, not just in policing,) agro technology, air conditioning, early warning …remote control of TV sets to gates, biometric data protection, the list of technological applications in our lives is an infinite curve indeed. AI will be dealt with in another blog in itself.

“Since 2015, notable progress has been made in expanding infrastructure, fostering industrial growth and boosting innovation. However, stark regional disparities persist, and many developing countries continue to face systemic barriers to inclusive and sustainable industrialization. To advance Goal 9, countries must boost investment in resilient infrastructure and research and development, expand access to finance for small manufacturers and bridge the digital divide by prioritizing affordable broadband and innovation systems in the world’s most underserved regions. The United Nations is advancing digital inclusion through initiatives such as the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries and the Global Digital Compact, which is aimed at closing connectivity gaps, expanding access to innovation and ensuring digital transformation benefits” according to the SDGs Progress Report for SDG 9  

The challenge for administrators and Smart City Governance is to make this Climate Adapted and Climate friendly. The SDG report for 2025 says only 51% of the global population has access to 5 G technology for use of Smartphones. Of this, 84% are found in developed Western Economies. “In 2024, 5G covered 51 per cent of the global population, with high-income countries at 84 per cent and low-income at 4 per cent. 4G reached 92 per cent worldwide. However, 15 per cent of people in the least developed countries and 14 per cent in landlocked developing countries lack mobile broadband”.

Technology is not just all about Smartphone; although most tech apps can today be accessed on Smartphones. Old economy technology includes satellite imagery for weather forecasting, robotics for advanced / remote surgical operations (on the human body!), emission control for automobiles, mobility enhancement, digital photography and videography and digitised newsrooms, food security through technological innovations, medical interventions, (imagine AI in pharmacology – it will adapt for instance the number of units a Diabetic has to inject oneself with), traffic management, early warning for extreme weather and natural calamities, and so on…

Air conditioners for example can fully be eliminated – yes even in the Tropics if we adhere to norms of traditional wisdom like construction without cement, ample cross ventilation, natural lighting and ventilation. Just traditional agro meteorological tenets of architecture, and horticulture on the micro scale can wholly eliminate air conditioning. But modern captains of industry will insist that 20 storey structures are needed for urban landscapes. No. Migration is primarily responsible for unsustainable urban growth – read multi storeyed buildings - which need air conditioning. How about humbler housing structures which can accommodate native flora and fauna which will all together keep the environs naturally cool?

Not just cement-less construction, other traditional tenets of architecture include mud houses, rammed earth technology, cob and wattle construction, mud bricks made on site, and so on reduce drastically the usage of cement and transport costs.


Cob n wattle construction / mud houses are so cool and climate friendly. 


More critically these types of traditionally designed architecture make space for protection and sustenance of native flora and fauna. Native flora will provide natural air conditioning. Wide windows and Verandahs add to circulation of air within constructed places adding to reduction of AC related emissions.

Traditional architecture vouches for equitable distribution of wealth and resources,..... utterly sustainable in itself. 

Solar powered lighting and heating will reduce emissions further. Alternate sources of energy supply like wind energy, solar energy and tidal energy as part of urban infrastructure will be Climate Change Adapted. These are planned development indices not just Smartphone / commerce centred technology!  Treated grey water can be used for a whole range of non-primary usage of water including small n sustainable check dams for hydel power generation in the private premises of urban dwellers. Harvested rain water may be stored in special reservoirs to make it a publicly available resource. Creative thought process can broaden the horizon of Sustainable Development infinitely.

Bioshields and biotechnology are other less explored areas for disaster preparedness and health care infrastructure for instance. Biotechnology can deliver food security to the urban homeless; and drone technology can literally deliver food packets to the hungry and needy!

Given the media over exposure we have, it should not be such an overwhelming challenge to develop constructive development discourse for sustainable development indeed. Needs political will and constructive engagement.

It is also time to rethink unnecessary development. For example agro technologies: Has vitamin enriched food stuffs created a public health hazard or enhanced human health?

Links for further reading:

https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9#progress_and_info

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949948824000313

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/8/4/113

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/22779752261427046

 

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