Smart city technology: a potential solution to Africa's growing population and rapid urbanization?

Abstract

Africa is rapidly urbanizing and its population is growing exponentially. The United Nations has predicted Africa will have the fastest global population growth, with over half of its populace residing in urban areas by 2050. This is concerning given Africa's current infrastructural deficits which compromise liveability in these urban areas. Education, health, and transport are core areas of challenge in Africa and currently, no research is known to have analyzed if the infusion of smart city technology in these core areas will make a difference, a gap this paper fills. This work reviews the literature on smart city technology using Singapore as a model to make inferences and ascertain the adaptability of the technology to the African situation. It seeks to investigate the prospects of enhancing the aforementioned core areas of challenge using smart city technology and determine the prospects for Africa's development. Findings indicate Africa's current state of development is an advantage here as infusing core areas with digital technology would proactively help address Africa's urbanization challenges. African nations are encouraged to embrace digital technology to address core development issues while putting adequate measures in place to maintain the security and privacy of citizens.