By Micky Watkins, Founder and CEO of World Mobile Group
Picture yourself wandering the streets of Barcelona at dusk, with smart street lighting responding to growing foot traffic that not only enhances the environment but actively promotes sustainability and energy efficiency. This is only one of the many virtues of a smart city—lauded metropoles with high population densities, greater economic opportunities, and digital technology embedded in your daily life. These well-invested cities harness technology to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life that many of its residents get to enjoy and participate in.
So why does investment in smart city technology seem to disconnect the moment you step outside its borders?
Currently, 55 percent of the world's population resides in cities, a number projected to reach 68 percent by 2050, according to the UN. And smart cities are expected to generate nearly $105 billion in revenue in 2024. However, policymakers must realize the need to extend smart city technology to smart villages—rural areas that would benefit from innovative solutions to improve their quality of life. By placing a magnifying glass solely on smart city development, those living in rural areas are left with a dearth of opportunity.
With the risk of a deepening digital divide only serving to exacerbate socioeconomic challenges, how can smart cities and the governments in charge of them fully recognize the need to empower rural communities?
A smart approach
Making sure rural communities are not left behind requires a “smart approach” to systematic technological expansion, as in, a strategy that doesn’t place cities at the forefront while ignoring everyone else. Equitable access to both digital and tangible resources is a fundamental aspect of addressing the digital divide and advancing human rights through urban development.
Smart village development, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions within Africa and Asia, hinges on infrastructure and energy. In Africa, for instance, energy catalyzes rural development from basic electricity needs to vital healthcare requirements such as well-lit clinics and refrigeration for medications.
Under the auspices of the UN Development Program, Burkina Faso recently expanded its clean energy initiatives using solar photovoltaic mini-grids, enabling the transfer of innovation and technology in decentralized renewable energy distribution and storage solutions. Such initiatives have led to significant strides in the country’s rural electrification, witnessing a boost from 3.2 percent in 2016 to almost 10 percent in 2019.
Entrepreneurship in locations such as Tanzania's Terrat village thrives thanks to critical infrastructure—including biofuel-powered mini-grids that provide reliable electricity. This accessibility fosters diverse economic activities such as dairy production, supporting income generation, and rural economic development. Likewise, India's Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission encourages rural residents to remain in their communities through precision agriculture enabled by digital technology.
Smart connectivity, encompassing broadband access and ICT solutions, forms the backbone of these initiatives, driving economic growth, improving education and healthcare, and streamlining governance processes, all of which are vital for smart village development. Precision agriculture, powered by IoT sensors and analytics, also contributes to the broader smart village concept by enhancing farming efficiency, reducing waste, and minimizing environmental impact.
The emphasis on rural empowerment is certainly not limited to the developing world. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform also aims to drive rural development, with the Commission's analysis emphasizing the gaps Member States must address to achieve the Green Deal's goal of 100 percent rural broadband access by 2025, contingent on Member States' responses in their CAP strategic plans.
The benefits of smart villages have become clearer than ever, but getting rural areas to that level of necessary innovation is easier said than done.
A critical mass
Smart villages have also been posited as a potential solution for increased urbanization and overcrowding in major cities, or at least make the population flow more sustainable. But enticing people to move to more rural areas can’t happen without smart village development. For example, overpopulation in Kenya poses significant challenges— straining resources such as water, arable land, and forests which result in scarcity, soil degradation, and threats to food security.
As with most countries in a similar situation, this pressure extends to other socioeconomic realms, causing overcrowded urban areas, inadequate housing, overwhelmed healthcare and education systems, elevated poverty rates, and heightened unemployment.
Overcoming this disparity requires a collective strategy at the national, regional, and municipal levels. To begin, national governments should incorporate smart villages into their strategic urban-rural growth plans, while regional authorities must tailor development objectives to local contexts that consider economic, cultural, demographic, and environmental factors. At the village level, efficient local administration is pivotal for implementing smart development plans, spanning connectivity and agricultural innovation.
Neglecting smart villages amid the growth of smart cities perpetuates deeply-rooted disparities, risking rural decline and limited services. To mitigate these disparities from becoming untenable, we must act swiftly to ensure inclusive, sustainable, and balanced development. A collaborative “smart approach” is essential to provide equitable access to resources for rural communities. Time is of the essence to prevent deepening divisions, and we must collectively ensure that both smart cities and smart villages thrive.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.