Building smart cities in Bangladesh: The legal and regulatory imperative

With emerging technologies, more countries are embracing smart cities, smart governments and smart economies to drive economic growth.

Smart cities promote citizen participation, transparency, accountability, collaboration, social inclusion and problem-solving, which ultimately improve the quality of life and foster economic growth.

Despite these opportunities, smart city initiatives present significant legal, regulatory, institutional and governance challenges that must be addressed before implementation.

These legislative developments mark significant progress but appear insufficient to govern the complex legal and technological ecosystem of smart cities.

Given the critical importance of smart city projects, Bangladesh should adopt rigorous technical standards and transparent procurement processes, prioritising experienced technology providers and system integrators with proven expertise in large-scale smart city deployments.