Last modified: 2019-08-14
Abstract
Cities in Southeast Asia today have been projected to play a significant role in driving the regional economic growth. Rapid urbanization has been identified is the main factor. ASEAN estimates that 90 million more people will move into cities across the region by 2030. The urgency to have urban vision for ASEAN leaders is mainly related to the general fact that the rise of cities across the region currently has been in line with an intensifying environmental and social problems (Sheng, 2010, Fraser, 2014). In this context, the establishment of ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) is interesting and important to scrutinize. The use of digital technologies to address the increasing challenges of urban development is the lying argument of smart cities development in the region. There are three strategic objectives to pursue, that is competitive economies, sustainable environment and higher quality of life.
With regard to the pursuit of sustainable development goals in the region, the question then to what extent smart cities can help addressing the real problems of urban challenges in ASEAN member countries, such as poverty, water crisis, sanitation and pollution, which are in line with SDGs targets?. Are technology the answer for all these urban problems? What important factors should be available as the contributing one for the success of smart cities’ role in addressing urban challenges in the region? Taking into account some cases of Indonesia secondary cities’ experiences, this paper argues that good governance and strong political leadership are the determinant factors for the success of ASEAN urban development that also meets the targets of SDGs, especially for developing sustainable cities.
Key words: smart cities, urbanization, governance, leadership, development, infrastructure, sustainable.