This year’s theme for World Cities Day, “Innovative Governance, Open Cities,” emphasizes the implementation of the global New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the creation of livable, sustainable cities conducive to inclusive growth and development. Smart cities, in particular, can be key tools toward achieving these global goals.

The International Telecommunication Union defines a smart city as “an innovative city that uses ICTs [information and communication technologies] and other means to improve quality of life, efficiency of urban operation and services and competitiveness, while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social and environmental aspects.” Indeed, the importance of these cities is growing: The United Nations has even put together a taskforce to create a key set of performance indicators for a global smart sustainable cities index. In commemoration of World Cities Day, we take stock of smart city initiatives in Africa.

African countries are presently in the early stages of their urbanization process. Though Africa was the least urbanized region in the world in 2015, it is now the second-fastest urbanizing region in the world (behind Asia). Population experts predict that by 2020, Africa will be on top. Given this rapid growth, now is the time for African policymakers to incorporate smart cities into their urbanization strategies.

Read the full article by Eyerusalem Siba and Mariama Sow about Africa Urbanization Brookings