Cities today are complex, dynamic systems composed of interdependent assets, ageing infrastructure, constrained resources, and rising citizen expectations.
As cities across the Middle East grow rapidly, public sector leaders are under pressure to manage this growth in smarter, more sustainable ways.
The answer lies not in isolated digital solutions, but in integrating systems, services and data into a single, interoperable intelligence layer, which we call the Living City.
With fast-growing cities, expanding digital infrastructure, and national programmes such as Vision 2030 and Vision 2040, the region has a real opportunity to rethink how cities are managed.
Author's summary: Reinventing urban governance in the Middle East requires integrated systems and services.