Al and Machine Learning for Smart Cities: Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urban Systems and Governance.

A special issue of Digital Technologies Research and Applications (DTRA) (E-ISSN: 2754-5687).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: March 2027

Guest Editors: 

Special Issue Information:

Dear Colleagues,

Cities around the world are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to manage urban infrastructure, mobility, energy systems, and public services more efficiently and sustainably. Yet the deployment of these technologies raises important questions that extend beyond engineering: How do AI-driven smart city initiatives align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)? How are these technologies governed, regulated, and contested within political systems, and what implications do they have for transparency, equity, and democratic accountability?

This Special Issue invites original research and review articles that explore the intersection of AI/ML innovation, sustainable urban development, and political/governance frameworks. We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: AI and ML applications in smart city infrastructure (transportation, energy, water, waste management); AI-driven approaches to achieving SDG targets in urban contexts; digital governance, e-government, and policy analytics; algorithmic accountability and transparency in public administration; citizen participation and digital democracy in smart cities; regulatory and political challenges of AI adoption in urban policymaking; and comparative or case-study analyses of smart city governance across regions.

Digital and E-Government Governance focuses on the application of AI, machine learning, data analytics, digital platforms, and intelligent information systems to support e-government services, digital public services, government decision-making, citizen engagement, and urban administrative processes.

The aim of this Special Issue is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among computer scientists, urban planners, policy analysts, and political science scholars, and to advance a more holistic understanding of how AI and ML can support smart cities that are technically robust, environmentally sustainable, and politically accountable. Novel methods, architectures, and empirical evaluations alongside case studies will enhance the goal of this special issue. We encourage submissions from researchers across disciplines and geographic regions.

We look forward to your contributions.

Guest Editors:
Dr. Fanar Shwedeh
Dr. Amir Ahmad Dar

Keywords:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Smart Cities
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• AI/ML methods
• Architectures
• Data pipelines
• Digital twins
• Intelligent sensing
• Urban Governance
• Digital Governance
• E-Governance
• Algorithmic Accountability
• Urban Sustainability
• Public Policy Analytics

Manuscript Submission Information:

Please visit the Submissions Guidelines page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Manuscripts should be submitted online through the online manuscript submission and editorial system. Additionally, please include a cover letter specifying that the manuscript is intended for the Special Issue "Al and Machine Learning for Smart Cities: Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urban Systems and Governance." when submitting it online. Manuscripts can be submitted until the submission deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract can be sent to the Editor Ms.Shy shy@ukscip.com for announcement on this website.

The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 USD. Authors who are unable to cover this cost or those who are invited to submit papers may be eligible for discounts or waivers.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process.

Published Papers:

This Special Issue is now open for submission.