A city that adds sensors and apps on top of unresolved planning and infrastructure problems does not become smart, it just becomes a digitized version of the same problems. Building a genuinely Smart City starts with sound urban planning and infrastructure decisions, with technology layered on top to make services more livable, efficient, and sustainable. This training course gives participants a complete, practical grounding in smart cities planning, connecting urban planning and digital technology decisions directly to real, livable outcomes.

Participants will strengthen their understanding of urban planning principles as the foundation for effective smart city strategies, and will build practical competency in designing and integrating digital infrastructure and applying IoT technologies to improve urban services and monitoring. The course develops sound skills in embedding sustainability into every stage of urban infrastructure planning and development.

The Smart Cities and Urban Infrastructure Training Course: Planning for Sustainable Digital Development is delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy for engineers, planners, and urban development professionals.

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish genuine Smart Cities strategies from technology added on top of unresolved planning problems
• Understand urban planning frameworks that support smart city strategies
• Plan and integrate digital infrastructure across urban systems
• Apply IoT technologies to improve city services, monitoring, and decision-making
• Embed sustainability principles into urban infrastructure planning
• Evaluate smart city projects for feasibility, resilience, and long-term impact
• Apply relevant standards and frameworks to smart cities and urban development practice

Target Audience

• Civil and infrastructure engineers involved in urban development projects
• Urban planners and city development professionals
• Digital infrastructure and technology specialists working on smart city initiatives
• Government and municipal engineers responsible for urban services
• Engineers and professionals building their expertise in smart cities planning

Module 1: Beyond the Buzzword: What Makes a City Actually Smart

• Why layering technology on unresolved urban problems does not create a smart city
• Key components and drivers of genuine smart city strategies
• Linking smart city goals to infrastructure and service planning

Module 2: Urban Planning Foundations for Smart City Strategies

• Principles of urban planning in a smart city context
• Integrating land use, mobility, and services planning
• Balancing growth, density, and quality of life in urban design

Module 3: Digital Infrastructure and IoT Systems

• Core components of digital infrastructure in smart cities, including connectivity and data platforms
• Applications of IoT and sensor networks for real-time urban monitoring
• Using digital infrastructure and IoT data to support informed urban decision-making

Module 4: Embedding Sustainability into Urban Infrastructure

• Embedding sustainability into smart city and infrastructure projects
• Resource efficiency and resilience in urban systems
• Aligning smart city initiatives with long-term sustainable development goals

Module 5: Delivering and Evaluating Smart City Projects

• Evaluating smart city projects for feasibility, resilience, and long-term impact
• Case studies in Smart Cities planning and urban infrastructure delivery
• Common implementation challenges and lessons learned from real urban development projects