Smart cities in Asia: an introduction
Yu-Min Joo, Teck Boon Tan
Abstract
Smart city technologies are being rolled out across varying economic, social and political contexts, and the need exists to examine why and how smart city policies are eagerly being introduced by a number of Asian governments today. This introductory chapter maps out smart city literature and situates smart city discourses in Asia and its urbanisation and development. It highlights the discourse on Asian smart cities through actual policies and practices and asks: In what ways are smart cities supporting development in Asia? How are the smart city aspirations of Asian countries being pursued? What challenges might their policies encounter, and what insights and lessons can we learn from them? Bridging two major policy topics today – smart cities and Asia – this chapter offers a unique look at Asian smart cities at a time when Asia is rapidly growing in influence on the international stage.