Governance and human rights implications of ASEAN's Smart Cities Network: a knowledge commons analysis

Abstract

Launched in April 2018, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Smart Cities Network (ASCN) initiative raises important issues regarding the tensions between achieving smart city objectives on the one hand and protection of human rights on the other. The aim of this paper is to explore these tensions using a Knowledge Commons Framework analysis. I first analyse the three key pillars of the ASCN pilot city knowledge commons – knowledge resources, community attributes and governance ‘rules in use’ – using human rights criteria. I the apply the lessons of this analysis to two fundamental aspects of human experience in smart city contexts – mobility through transport systems and access to essential services through energy supply.