ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN): Exploring the Essence of 'Smart Cities' in the ASEAN Region and Addressing Key Challenges

ASEAN Member States (AMS) established the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) in 2018 as a collaborative program between cities in ASEAN to achieve smart and sustainable urban development jointly. Roughly half of the ASEAN population resides in urban areas, with over 25% living in cities boasting populations exceeding one million (UNCDF, 2021). In the absence of effective urban planning, ASEAN has the potential to undergo a critical phase of "urbanisation without growth," characterised by a high population density that no longer correlates with significant economic advancements and improved living standards (Hermawan, 2019). The challenges arising from this dense population, including traffic congestion, air pollution, limited housing space, inadequate infrastructure access, and insufficient waste management, amplify the risk of climate change, especially in Southeast Asian countries, which are among the most severely affected by climate change (Beirne et al., 2021). Therefore, the Smart City initiative is perceived as a viable solution to enhance urban resilience and mitigate the impact of climate change and population density.

Unlike other ASEAN cooperation and partnerships, generally done at the regional and state levels, ASCN's innovative approach focuses on the city and provincial levels (Martinus, 2020). The ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) involves 26 designated "pilot" cities within the ten ASEAN member states. These cities represent the varied landscape of the region, encompassing smaller provincial cities like Banyuwangi and Makassar in Indonesia and Chonburi in Thailand, to prominent global and regional urban centres such as Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur (Kong & Woods, 2021). The development of these pilot cities was guided through the ASEAN Smart Cities Framework (ASCF). Established in 2018, a 'smart city' in ASEAN means a city that harnesses technological and digital solutions and creative non-technological approaches to tackle urban issues, consistently enhancing the well-being of its residents and generating fresh possibilities (ASEAN, 2018). Focusing on 'people-centred' approaches, it adopts an inclusive approach to smart city development that empowers the aspects of human rights and fundamental freedoms aligned with the ASEAN charter (ASEAN, 2024). 'Smart city' in ASCN is also synonymous with a 'smart sustainable city,' fostering economic and social progress while prioritising environmental conservation through efficient strategies to address current and future societal challenges, ensuring inclusivity (ASEAN, 2018). The ASEAN Smart Cities Framework functions as a non-binding guide to support the advancement of smart cities within each ASCN city, tailored to each locality's unique requirements, potentials, and cultural context. It outlines the essential characteristics of smart cities in ASEAN by defining strategic goals for the development of smart cities within the region, which are: 1) Civic and Social, 2) Health and Well-being, 3) Safety and Security, 4) Quality Environment, 5) Built Infrastructure, and 6) Industry & Innovation (ASEAN, 2018). Those strategies aim to align existing national development plans with the local development plan or assist in building new ones (ASEAN, 2018).?

However, implementing those strategies within local and city government contexts is challenging as ASEAN Member States (AMS) face several challenges. The main challenge remains in the complexity of AMS's governance structures, requiring increased vertical and horizontal integration within its structure (Kong & Woods, 2021). Vertical integration means the need for the contribution between different layers of government to be aligned; meanwhile, horizontal integration refers to the need for different governing bodies within the same layer to be aligned, for example, the public-private-sector stakeholders (Kong & Woods, 2021). This challenge is associated closely with the problem of ineffectiveness within the local professionals in carrying out the plan that hinders the integration. This ineffectiveness comes from an underlying problem: the lack of political will and resources within the actors and facilitators in knowledge transfer or transboundary learning between AMS (Tan et al., 2021).?

Therefore, there is a need for local governments not only to promote facilitators for knowledge transfer but also to encourage a more collaborative policy transfer and transition from information-sharing platforms to tool or instrument-based transfer (Tan et al., 2021). By facilitating collaborative policy transfer, local governments in AMS can enhance vertical and horizontal integration within the governance structure, implementing tool or instrument-based policies to address urban challenges and achieve smart city development.

Written by: Fransisca Fleicia Paschaline (Intern)

Edited by: Dian Noviyanti

References

ASEAN. (2018, November 15). ASEAN Smart Cities Framework. https://asean.org/asean-smart-cities-framework/

ASEAN. (2024). ASEAN Smart Cities Network. https://asean.org/our-communities/asean-smart-cities-network/

Beirne, J., Renzhi, N., & Volz, U. (2021). Bracing for the Typhoon: Climate change and sovereign risk in Southeast Asia. ADBI Working Paper Series, 1223. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2199

Hermawan, N. V. (2019, October 10). ASEAN Smart Cities Network: Getting Closer to the Utopia – ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada. ASEAN Studies Center (ASC) Universitas Gadjah Mada. https://asc.fisipol.ugm.ac.id/2019/10/10/asean-smart-cities-network-getting-closer-to-the-utopia/

Kong, L., & Woods, O. (2021). Scaling smartness, (de)provincialising the city? The ASEAN Smart Cities Network and the translational politics of technocratic regionalism. Cities, 117, 103326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103326

Martinus, M. (2020). ASEAN Smart Cities Network: A Catalyst for Partnerships. ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ISEAS_Perspective_2020_32.pdf

Tan, S.-Y., Taeihagh, A., & Sha, K. (2021). How Transboundary Learning Occurs: Case Study of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN). Sustainability, 13(11), 6502. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116502

UNCDF. (2021, November 24). Smart Green ASEAN Cities : A New Initiative to Promote Sustainable and Smart Cities in ASEAN. https://www.uncdf.org/article/7310/smart-green-asean-cities-a-new-initiative-to-promote-sustainable-and-smart-cities-in-asean