For smart cities, the future is regional

IN November 2019, South Korea announced the launch of a consultative council on smart city projects with the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean). This comes on the back on ongoing efforts by the US and China to engage with the Asean Smart Cities Network (ASCN).

Proposed by Singapore, the ASCN was launched in April 2018 to facilitate smart, sustainable and technologically-enabled urban development across Asean. It also aims to encourage greater cooperation among Asean members in smart city development, catalyse bankable projects with the private sector, and secure funding and support from Asean's external partners.

With the formation of the ASCN and growing interest from major powers such as the US, China and Korea, smart city development is no longer simply a matter for mayors and municipal leaders. It has in fact taken on a regional character, with significant implications for the practice of economic diplomacy in Asia.