Mapping continental ambitions

As the world becomes increasingly urban and digital, smart cities are emerging as ground-zero for new approaches to development and governance. On Thursday, January 23rd, a diverse group of experts convened as CSIS to distinguish between leading smart city models and discuss how their technologies, including in the areas of public safety and surveillance, are impacting the power of citizens, governments, and corporations, both within and between countries.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a $1 trillion flagship foreign policy effort of Chinese president Xi Jinping, could reshape global networks of trade, transport, and political ties within and between countries for decades to come. But since its announcement ...