Legal Framework and Development Models of Smart Cities: Key Takeaways across BRICS Jurisdictions

BRICS Law Journal. 2025. Vol. 12. No. 3. P. 101–119.

Larichev A., Soldatova L.

This study analyzes the experience of smart city development in core BRICS jurisdictions, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The legal frameworks, as well as approaches towards management and implementation of the smart city concept, are examined. The research is methodologically based on a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating the analysis of academic literature, legal acts, and program documents. The authors explore top-down and bottomup approaches to the development of a smart city and conclude that both of the approaches have distinct advantages as well as certain limitations, which suggests the necessity of a combined model for both the regulation and implementation of relevant projects. The authors also maintain that BRICS as an institution may itself serve as aplatform to share and create appropriate tools. Additionally, a specialized mechanism for knowledge exchange and capacity building could be instituted within BRICS, aimed at systematically documenting and disseminating best practices, technical standards, and key insights on smart city development among member-states.

Keywords: умный город, implementation, нормативно-правовое регулирование, smart cities, реализация прав, legal regulation, BRICS jurisdictions, top-down and bottom-up approaches, юрисдикции БРИКС, пподходы "сверху вниз" и "снизу вверх"