Smart cities are being promoted as the “future of urban living”, but are they actually making our lives better? We are already aware that our world is rapidly urbanising: we expect that over 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050 and there is immense pressure for cities to become stronger in terms of infrastructure and resources (housing, transport). Cities are already a focal point for economic development, generating 80% of global GDP while simultaneously responsible for 70% of global CO2 emissions, according to an International Energy Agency report. As a matter of fact, Smart City programmes are part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Smart City is basically the application of information and communication technology to urban environments in order to make them more sustainable, safe, and efficient. Building on this foundation, in many parts of the world such as Barcelona, there is now increased connectivity for everyday life due to the deployment of smart transport systems which reduce commuting time, and smart streetlighting to ensure better safety. This increases overall life satisfaction for many residents. This is, however not the reality in many places across the world, as in less developed countries many communities do not have access to basic resources, let alone innovative technologies, which can exacerbate the digital divide, with only certain sections of the community benefiting. While smart cities can increase life satisfaction, they also have the potential to increase inequality. Furthermore, the economic benefits of smart cities have yielded mixed results; smart infrastructure attracted investors and spurred innovation in Singapore and in doing so, increased productivity and boosted growth, thereby leading to more jobs. The capital investment required to implement and maintain the technology that makes a smart city work may also be very high