Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Smart city programs are reshaping urban governance, but their implications for sustainability in conflict-affected cities remain underexplored. This study examines how the Srinagar Smart City Mission in Jammu and Kashmir, India, reconfigures public sector decision-making and contributes to sustainable urban futures. Using a qualitative case study, the present study analyses policy documents, official project reports and secondary evaluations of key interventions in mobility, public space, digital infrastructure and environmental services. The findings indicate that smart solutions improve coordination, service efficiency and environmental performance in selected corridors while also generating new risks related to exclusion, intensified surveillance and long-term fiscal burdens. The discussion argues that smart cities can foster genuinely sustainable urban futures only when embedded in broader participatory and rights-based governance reforms that prioritise social justice, ecological resilience and durable institutional capacity in Srinagar and similar cities.</p>