What is the Smart City? Throughout the history of cities and urban development we have projected various futures for how we might want to live, work, play and share. These futures are often visualised by architects, designers and urbanists. When examining futures it is important to understand that they may be preferable for some people and not others, and in promoting certain types of future there is the flip side where other possible futures are hidden or discredited. In order to understand the Smart City, we will develop a history of the future looking at the ideas and impact of architects including: Yona Friedman, Cedric Price and Archigram. We will then look at who is promoting the Smart City and explore their various advantages and disadvantages through examples from China, Colombia, India and Indonesia to better understand the implications for architecture and urbanism in the 21st century.