Artificial Intelligence in smart cities: implications for urban governance in Africa

Rapid urbanisation across Africa is placing increasing strain on urban governance systems, intensifying long-standing challenges such as infrastructure deficits, inefficient service delivery, and limited institutional capacity. Within this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a potentially transformative tool for advancing smart city development. By enabling data-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, and real-time monitoring, AI offers opportunities to enhance operational efficiency and improve the delivery of essential urban services. This paper provides a perspective on the role of AI in shaping urban governance across African cities, highlighting both its transformative potential and the structural constraints that influence its adoption and effectiveness. While AI applications across sectors such as transport, energy, healthcare, and public administration can improve urban outcomes, their success is not guaranteed. The effectiveness of AI depends fundamentally on governance readiness, including the availability of quality data, institutional capacity, regulatory frameworks, and human capital. In many African contexts, these foundational elements remain underdeveloped, limiting the scalability and inclusivity of AI-driven solutions. Furthermore, dominant smart city models imported from developed economies often overlook the socio-economic complexities and informal dynamics that characterise African cities. Accordingly, this paper argues for a shift towards context-specific, citizen-centred approaches to smart city development. Such approaches prioritise inclusivity, local innovation, and participatory governance. Ultimately, sustainable and equitable urban transformation in Africa will depend not merely on technological advancement but on the strategic integration of AI within adaptive, accountable, and development-oriented governance systems.