Small and medium-sized cities (SMSCs) are increasingly being recognised as significnt places for managing contemporary urbanisation challenges whilst simultaneously advancing smart, sustainable, resilient and innovative urban development pathways. The researcher investigates whether SMSCs can act as laboratories for transferable urban solutions capable of informing both metropolitan and rural development contexts. Using Alberton, located within the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng Province, South Africa, as a case study, the researcher examines how governance capacity, spatial structure, digitalisation, infrastructure investment and community-based innovation influence quality of life outcomes. A qualitative case study approach is employed, combining policy analysis, spatial planning review and comparative international practice. The findings show that Alberton exhibits magnificent potential to function as an innovation arena due to its scale, institutional proximity to residents, manageable spatial complexity and integration within a metropolitan system. However, institutional fragmentation, infrastructure backlogs and limited local innovation financing pushback the city’s transformative capacity. The study concludes that SMSCs such as Alberton represent strategically important platforms for advancing smart and resilient urban solutions that can be scaled upward to metropolitan regions and adapted for smaller towns and rural settlements.
Nyakudya et al. (2026) studied this question.