Defined as a modern expression of connected urbanity, a smart city incorporates information and communication technologies into its structure with a view to enhance civic functions and improve the quality of life of citizens. Contemporary urban developers and planners are working to incorporate guiding principles that will help minimize the wastage of natural and municipal resources. In addition, a smart city must cast a range of positive, definitive impacts on the natural environment.

Reduced emissions and clear air represent tangible gains that flow from a smart city project. Citizens that share commutes, travel in battery-powered vehicles, and use bicycles contribute significantly to lowered vehicular emissions, which directly results in gains in the quality of ambient air. Pedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks also represent long-term investments that make a consistent impact on the natural environment.

Smart cities can save energy in a number of ways. Smart street lights that calibrate the intensity of lighting in public areas in response to pedestrian traffic represent one instance. Sensors inside residents' homes and public buildings contribute significantly to saving energy. In addition, urban planners can deploy extensive grids of street cameras, GPS-enabled transport systems, the Internet of Things, and coordinated traffic lights to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic. This strategy promotes energy efficiency in terms of charging infrastructure that power electric vehicles.

Green buildings that utilize renewable building materials can help to make a positive contribution to the natural environment. These structures hinge on recycling materials and using ambient light to power lighting systems. Systems engineered into green buildings minimize the costs of creature comforts such as heating and cooling. Planners can cover the roofs of green buildings with plants that purify the air and boost the levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. These structures also make extensive deployments of renewable energy such as solar power, water power, wind power; these actions lower the impact of human activities on the natural environment.