On the one hand, the diversity across and within Emerging Asian countries can pose challenges for national governments to implement smart city initiatives. On the other hand, such diversity is an opportunity for the development of innovative ideas, precisely because cities at an earlier stage of development can learn from best practices and “leapfrog" the most difficult stages, thereby avoiding the pitfalls and challenges that peer cities have already faced. The sharing of best practices on smart city initiatives is especially valuable in light of the global megatrends of globalisation, urbanisation, ageing population, climate change and digitalisation. Despite the fact that these megatrends impact Emerging Asian countries in different ways and that each country is at a different starting point in tackling their associated challenges, they pose risks to all cities. A range of subnational indicators are required in order to monitor how smart city initiatives impact the lives of citizens and to provide a benchmark for governments to develop even smarter cities. Top-down approaches that disregard or do not involve the subnational level run the risk of being exclusive and failing to meet the varied needs of all citizens.