Smart Cities and Environmental Governance Leveraging IoT and AI for Economic Efficiency and Healthier Urban Living

Rapid urbanization has resulted in increased pressure on resources, public health, and the environment. Smart cities, powered by the Internet of Things IoT and Artificial Intelligence AI , have emerged as transformative frameworks to enhance environmental governance, economic efficiency, and urban health. This research paper explores how IoT enabled sensing technologies, AI driven analytics, and integrated urban data platforms can improve environmental monitoring, resource efficiency, and decision making processes. The study examines key technologies, applications, and implementation challenges, and provides a unified architecture for IoT–AI–governance convergence. The findings highlight that IoT–AI driven systems significantly improve air quality management, waste operations, energy utilization, water conservation, urban mobility, and public health surveillance. The paper concludes with future research directions on ethical AI, digital twins, resilient infrastructure, and policy frameworks required for sustainable smart cities. Nikunj Chandrakant Gediya "Smart Cities and Environmental Governance: Leveraging IoT and AI for Economic Efficiency and Healthier Urban Living" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-9 | Issue-6 , December 2025, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd99853.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/other/99853/smart-cities-and-environmental-governance-leveraging-iot-and-ai-for-economic-efficiency-and-healthier-urban-living/nikunj-chandrakant-gediya