The 2030 National Smart Cities Strategy and Action Plan (“Action Plan”) was put into effect by Presidential Circular No. 2026/11 dated 18.09.2026 (“Circular”), published in the Official Gazette dated 19.09.2026 and numbered 33375.
Building on the national smart city initiatives implemented during the 2020-2023 period, the Action Plan aims to ensure a holistic approach to the digital transformation of cities, promote the efficient use of resources, prevent duplicative investments, develop interoperable systems and enhance the integration of services provided to citizens.
Prepared under the vision of “Advanced Society, Advanced Technology, Sustainable and Resilient World”, the Action Plan comprises 4 strategic objectives, 8 strategic targets, 32 actions and 297 implementation steps. The key aspects of the Circular and the Action Plan are outlined below.
Smart City Transformation Structured Around Four Strategic Objectives
The strategic framework of the Action Plan is structured around 4 key objectives: (i) enhancing local adaptation, development and prosperity, (ii) advancing urban transformation and liveability, (iii) strengthening environmental and human-centred approaches, and (iv) improving Türkiye’s international position in the field of smart cities.
Under this approach, smart city transformation is not regarded solely as an investment in technological infrastructure but is considered together with governance, sustainability, resilience, quality of life, citizen participation, information security and economic development.
Local Smart City Strategies and Institutional Structures to Be Established Across All 81 Provinces
The Action Plan aims to implement the national policy framework at the local level. In this context, city-specific smart city strategies and roadmaps are targeted to be prepared for all 81 provinces by the end of 2026, while the institutional structures responsible for smart city initiatives within local administrations are to be strengthened and cities’ smart city maturity levels are to be assessed on a regular basis.
The Action Plan also aims to enhance the exchange of knowledge and experience among cities, strengthen the smart city transformation capabilities of local administrations and guide investments in accordance with common standards and measurable performance indicators.
Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Internet of Things and Digital Twin Technologies to Be Integrated into Urban Management
In terms of technology, the Action Plan places particular emphasis on artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, geographic information systems and digital twin applications. It aims to deploy these technologies in the planning, monitoring and management of urban services, enable data generated by different institutions to be utilised within an interoperable framework and strengthen data-driven decision-making mechanisms.
In this regard, the expansion of the National Urban Information System, development of open-data infrastructure, use of semantic planning and planning intelligence in spatial planning, and development of digital and interactive twin applications to support urban management are among the Action Plan’s key areas of focus.
Resilient Cities Capable of Responding to Disasters and Climate Change to Be Prioritised
Integrating smart city applications with urban transformation, climate change and disaster management is one of the Action Plan’s principal areas of focus. The Action Plan aims to expand the use of technological solutions for early warning, crisis management, efficient use of resources and enhancing cities’ resilience against disasters and other risks.
The approach also includes extending smart city infrastructure beyond urban centres to rural areas, designing infrastructure and applications, to the extent possible, so that they can be used by multiple institutions, and preventing duplicative investments.
At Least 50 Smart City Applications Targeted for Real-World Deployment
The Action Plan also includes scheduled targets for translating its strategic framework into practice. In this context, following metropolitan municipalities, 187 district municipalities are expected to be included in the transformation process in 2027, with geographic information system-based development plans to be prepared for a total of 268 municipalities. By 2028, at least 50 smart city applications are targeted for real-world deployment.
The continued use of smart city maturity assessments and the Smart City Index to make urban development measurable, together with monitoring cities’ performance against national and international indicators, also forms part of the Action Plan’s monitoring and evaluation framework.
Domestic Technology, the Smart City Ecosystem and International Cooperation to Be Supported
The Action Plan aims to promote the development of domestic and national smart city technologies, strengthen cooperation among the public sector, local administrations, universities, the private sector and civil society within the smart city ecosystem, and diversify financing opportunities for smart city investments.
It also aims to facilitate the expansion of smart city solutions developed in Türkiye into international markets, establish strategic partnerships among countries and cities, develop international guidance and experience-sharing mechanisms, and increase the international visibility of successful urban applications.
Information Security and Digital Security to Form Core Elements of Smart City Transformation
The Circular places particular emphasis on maintaining the highest level of digital security measures across all areas, from cities to rural regions. As smart city transformation, data management and AI-supported decision-making mechanisms are developed, information security, personal data protection and the establishment of secure digital infrastructure will constitute fundamental requirements.
In this context, public institutions and local administrations are expected to implement innovative, environmentally sustainable and inclusive projects while taking the necessary security measures.
Implementation of the Action Plan to Be Carried Out Through Cooperation Between Public Institutions and Local Administrations
The Action Plan will be implemented under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, with contributions from the relevant public institutions and organisations, local administrations, universities, the private sector and civil society organisations. Under the Circular, public institutions and organisations are required to fulfil the duties and responsibilities assigned to them under the Action Plan and provide the support and assistance required throughout the implementation process.
Entry into Force
Presidential Circular No. 2026/11 dated 18.09.2026 was published in the Official Gazette dated 19.09.2026 and numbered 33375. The Action Plan sets out Türkiye’s national roadmap for smart city transformation through 2030.
Assessment and Conclusion
The 2030 National Smart Cities Strategy and Action Plan aims to move the digitalisation of cities beyond isolated technology investments and transform it into a holistic transformation programme centred on data, governance, sustainability, resilience and citizen-focused services. In particular, the preparation of local strategies, development of shared data and technology infrastructure, monitoring of cities through measurable performance indicators and real-world deployment of concrete smart city applications will be among the defining elements of this period.
At this point, however, we believe that the “Good City, Good Society” approach should lie at the heart of smart city transformation. By the “Good City, Good Society” approach, we mean that the respect a city demonstrates towards nature, people, women, children, the elderly and public life will, over time, also be reflected in the behaviour and choices of those who live in that city and in their relationship with it. Ultimately, technology emerges as one of the key factors enabling a city to become more liveable for its society.
Accordingly, a smart city should not be understood merely as a city that uses more sensors, data, connected devices or digital public services. The fundamental purpose of technological infrastructure should be to create a better city and, through this, contribute to the development of a society that has fostered a culture of coexistence and achieved a high level of prosperity. Technology should therefore be regarded as one of the building blocks for creating both a better city and a better society.
In this respect, transforming urban infrastructure into a system that generates and learns from data, uses resources more efficiently and responds more rapidly to citizens’ needs will not only make municipal services smarter but will also transform the way people interact with transportation, energy consumption, the environment, public spaces and urban resources. Making a city smart means creating an ecosystem in which its residents can act in a more informed, efficient and sustainable manner.
The Action Plan’s emphasis on integrating artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things (“IoT”) and digital twin technologies into urban management is particularly significant in this respect. The ability of devices to authenticate one another through assigned digital identities, exchange data and carry out economic transactions without human intervention illustrates the potential future development of smart city infrastructure. As highlighted in our previous publications, applications such as the Digital Asset Broker (“DAB”), developed by Vodafone and subject to its collaboration with Sumitomo Corporation, are among the clearest examples of how IoT infrastructure may progressively evolve into the more advanced concept known as the Economy of Things (“EoT”).
One practical example of such an application is an electric vehicle autonomously communicating with a charging point, authenticating its identity, receiving the service and automatically making payment. Models of this kind, which can already be implemented on a pilot basis, may become increasingly widespread in transportation, energy, parking, logistics and other urban services in the future. Accordingly, it should be recognised that the IoT, data and interoperability infrastructure contemplated under the Action Plan has the long-term potential to create not only “connected cities”, but also connected urban economies in which devices and systems can securely transact with one another.
From a private-sector perspective, the Action Plan also establishes a framework that may create new opportunities for projects, technology supply and cooperation with public authorities and local administrations across numerous fields, including smart mobility, energy, the environment, security, data infrastructure, artificial intelligence, IoT, geographic information systems and digital twins. Companies operating within the smart city ecosystem should therefore closely monitor the roadmaps to be prepared by local administrations, applicable technical standards, data and information security requirements, and the financing and support mechanisms to be developed in the coming period.
Ultimately, the success of the 2030 National Smart Cities Strategy and Action Plan should be assessed not by how much technology is deployed across our cities, but by the extent to which that technology improves people’s quality of life, enhances urban sustainability and strengthens the relationship between society and the city.
A good city supports a good society. A smart city, in turn, is a step towards creating a good city through the use of technology. A good city should therefore be understood not merely as one that uses its resources more intelligently, but as one in which people with different cultures and aspirations can live together in a sustainable environment.
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