Abstract
The notion of an “intelligent city” has gained popularity over the last two decades in the urban realm. This paper aims to establish the extent to which Umhlanga (in Durban – South Africa) embodies the principles of an intelligent city. Using the Place, Urban realm theories, aligned with Hollands’ three framing principles of the intelligent city, the paper argues that transforming cities to the status of smart cities is a gradual process that is driven by both international pressure and local demand for better intelligent services. Framed in business entrepreneurship and planning systems, Umhlanga has evolved to be well infrastructure equipped meeting and activity space. In the study area, the physical space configuration allows for cross-boundary transactions within the intelligent city principles which occur via cyberspace and ITCs. However, despite this success, the city still exhibits elements of spatial exclusivity in the use of urban space – a factor which the government needs to address if spatial equality in emerging intelligent cities is to be attained.
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Erwee, C., Chipungu, L., Magidimisha-Chipungu, H. (2021). Rebranding Umhlanga as an Intelligent City. In: Augusto, J.C. (eds) Handbook of Smart Cities. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69698-6_77
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69698-6_77
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