The term Smart City has been at the center of conversations about urban planning for some years now. Until recently, making a city “smart” primarily related to digital transformation and the deployment of connected devices to improve operational efficiency through technology.
Today, however, the concept of Smart City is evolving into something far more ambitious. The conversation is no longer just about connecting urban devices and application – it is about making infrastructure intelligent.
According to the latest World Economic Forum report “Intelligent Infrastructure: A Primer”, intelligent infrastructure is becoming a foundational pillar of urbancompetitiveness, resilience and innovation. The report introduces a practical model called the DNA+ framework, designed to help governments, industries and cities move from isolated digital projects to fully integrated intelligent ecosystems.
What an intelligent infrastructure is
Intelligent infrastructure can be defined as the integrated system of physical assets, communications networks, digital platforms and AI that enables infrastructure to develop cognitive capabilities – thus, the ability to sense, connect, learn and act in real time, serving as the foundational backbone of competitiveness.
Over the past decade, cities invested heavily in digital technology — sensors, IoT platforms, cloud systems and connectivity networks. But many initiatives remained fragmented. The World Economic Forum argues that the next leap forward is not about collecting more data or adding more connectivity. Instead, cities must design and develop infrastructure capable of sensing, learning, predicting and responding in real time. If digital, connected infrastructure enables communication, intelligent infrastructure enables decision-making.
The DNA+ Framework
The World Economic Forum’s DNA+ framework is built around four interconnected layers:
- D = Devices that interact with the physical world to capture real-time data
- N = Network that provides secure, high-speed connectivity for data to flow across organizational and sectoral boundaries
- A = Artificial intelligence spanning the full stack from data platforms and analytical models through to AI orchestration as the governing intelligence that coordinates the entire system
- + = Cyber resilience, which functions as a cross-cutting layer, embedded throughout by design rather than appended after deployment.
In a nutshell, the DNA+ framework describes a unified architecture to transform passive infrastructure into active systems that deliver intelligent outcomes. This evolution recalls another key concept highlighted in the report, which is interoperability.
As cities deploy increasing numbers of digital platforms and sensors, the real challenge is ensuring that these technologies can communicate and operate seamlessly with one another. Too often, urban infrastructure evolves through isolated projects that generate fragmented data silos and disconnected operations. The DNA+ framework instead emphasizes the importance of open architectures, shared standards and integrated ecosystems, where streetlighting networks, mobility systems, public safety platforms and environmental monitoring tools can exchange information in real time. Interoperability is the foundation for scalable, adaptive and future-ready cities: without it, intelligence remains confined within individual systems.
The World Economic Forum’s DNA+ framework confirms a direction that Paradox Engineering has believed in for years: the future of urban innovation depends on integrated, intelligent and interoperable ecosystems. Devices, networks, and cybersecurity cannot be treated as separate technology layers anymore. They must work together as part of a unified architecture capable of enabling real-time awareness, adaptive operations and data-driven decision-making across the entire urban environment.
This vision is strongly aligned with our own approach to the design and implementation of Smart Lighting and Smart City solutions for cities to thrive.