Smart Cities and Regional Development in Kazakhstan: Assessment of Spatial Transformation

The smart city paradigm has attained international visibility as a multidimensional policy framework for overcoming urbanization problems via the convergence of digital technologies, sustainable infrastructure, innovation systems, and data-driven management. This study aims to evaluate the spatial capacity of Kazakhstan’s regions for implementing smart city initiatives using enterprise-level data from the 2024 World Bank Enterprise Survey (B-READY). The paper uses five dimensions of smart city readiness: digitalization, infrastructure reliability, environmental sustainability, innovation potential, and management efficiency. Based on the application of multifactorial linear regression with regional fixed effects, significant interregional differences have been identified. Thus, the share of electronic payments in Astana reaches 74.5%, while in the northern regions it is only 65.0%. A statistically significant negative relationship has been established between innovation activity and the level of digitalization (β = -18.26, p = 0.023), which may indicate a sectoral segmentation of the digital economy. Cluster analysis, based on standardized values of five smart city readiness indicators, allowed the regions of Kazakhstan to be grouped into three clusters, each of which reflects a different level of institutional, digital and infrastructural readiness to implement the concept of smart cities. The research contributes to the sparse empirical literature on smart city readiness in Central Asia by providing a firm-level, quantitative evaluation of spatial inequalities and institutional drivers. Policy recommendations include targeted infrastructural investments, support for innovation, and administrative reform in underperforming regions. Subsequent research should integrate longitudinal data and citizen-level surveys to better contextualize Kazakhstan's urban digitalization.