In many cities, roads now manage traffic on their own, and water systems fix leaks before they happen. These are early signs that cities are starting to think for themselves. By the end of this century, the most consequential form of intelligence may not be human or robotic; it will be urban. Once-static spaces are becoming dynamic networks that sense, learn, and act. Fuelled by sensors, algorithms, and oceans of data, cities will anticipate needs, adapt autonomously, and shape decisions. They could balance energy in real time, detect disease before it spreads, and even guide policymaking.

This change is more than technological. It is political, economic, and civilisational. Choices taken now will determine whether urban intelligence expands freedom or constrains it, spreads opportunity or deepens inequality, and strengthens democracy or enables control.

The leap from “smart” to “thinking” cities is already underway. In Hangzhou, Alibaba’s City Brain cut congestion so sharply the city fell from fifth to fifty-seventh on global traffic rankings. Singapore’s Virtual Singapore uses a living digital twin to simulate disaster responses and energy use. Toronto’s cancelled Quayside project, despite its demise, showed how machine learning could integrate housing, transport, and utilities from the ground up.

A smart city reacts to data; a thinking city learns from it and acts. Its sensors and processors resemble a nervous system, while flows of vehicles, water, and power mirror physical laws. With constant feedback, the city behaves like a brain. India’s Smart Cities Mission has digitised services and governance. The next step is........

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