Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
The idea of the "smart city" has become a major development strategy in many cities in the Global South. It is frequently promoted as a technology solution to persistent urban issues including traffic jams, crime, informal settlements, and ineffective service delivery. This narrative is becoming
more popular in Africa among governments, foreign funders, and IT companies, many of which support the smart city agenda as a representation of advancement and modernity. With initiatives
like Konza Technopolis and AI-enabled surveillance systems in Nairobi, Kenya, in particular, has adopted this approach as part of its national development agenda and established itself as a center for digital innovation.
On the surface, smart city initiatives seem to have the potential to completely transform the way that metropolitan areas are governed. In order to address urban insecurity and inefficiencies, Kenya is implementing technologies including biometric identity systems, facial recognition monitoring, predictive policing, and algorithmic traffic management. These tools are frequently presented in public communications as impartial, apolitical means of enhancing services. These deployments, however, have profound effects on digital rights, public accountability, and urban inequality because they are enmeshed in a complex political economy that encompasses elite interests, state security concerns, and foreign corporate influence.
By examining Kenyan urban dwellers' daily experiences navigating smart city infrastructures, Muthuri Kathure aims to critically explore these processes. In this study, he examines who is made visible, trackable, or vulnerable in these electronically mediated settings, as well as how impacted groups perceive and react to them, rather than assuming that smart cities are inherently "smart." Two related projects will be highlighted: Nairobi's AI-powered surveillance ecosystem and the Konza Technopolis smart city project.
The idea of the "smart city" has become a major development strategy in many cities in the Global South. It is frequently promoted as a technology solution to persistent urban issues including traffic jams, crime, informal settlements, and ineffective service delivery. This narrative is becoming
more popular in Africa among governments, foreign funders, and IT companies, many of which support the smart city agenda as a representation of advancement and modernity. With initiatives
like Konza Technopolis and AI-enabled surveillance systems in Nairobi, Kenya, in particular, has adopted this approach as part of its national development agenda and established itself as a center for digital innovation.
On the surface, smart city initiatives seem to have the potential to completely transform the way that metropolitan areas are governed. In order to address urban insecurity and inefficiencies, Kenya is implementing technologies including biometric identity systems, facial recognition monitoring, predictive policing, and algorithmic traffic management. These tools are frequently presented in public communications as impartial, apolitical means of enhancing services. These deployments, however, have profound effects on digital rights, public accountability, and urban inequality because they are enmeshed in a complex political economy that encompasses elite interests, state security concerns, and foreign corporate influence.
By examining Kenyan urban dwellers' daily experiences navigating smart city infrastructures, Muthuri Kathure aims to critically explore these processes. In this study, he examines who is made visible, trackable, or vulnerable in these electronically mediated settings, as well as how impacted groups perceive and react to them, rather than assuming that smart cities are inherently "smart." Two related projects will be highlighted: Nairobi's AI-powered surveillance ecosystem and the Konza Technopolis smart city project.
