The United Nations has set in place sustainable development goals (SDGs) aimed at addressing problems such as those South Africa faces. One of South Africa’s challenges is the influx of people into her cities. This is also a global phenomenon, with 90% of the world’s population expected to migrate to and stay in cities by 2050. This study conducted a desk review in which 125 journal articles were reviewed and used for semantic analysis, creating a word cloud and word frequencies using Atlas ti. The study found support available for the country to ensure that smart cities are developed, with four smart-city projects in progress, and that the SDGs are being addressed. This study proposes the development of smart cities as a vehicle for addressing the SDG Agenda 2030. Eleven SDGs are addressed by the four smart cities that the country is working on. The study recommends that meaningful collaborations between private and government institutions be set up so that funding can be secured to fast-track the completion of these cities. Future research could look at how citizens can be better prepared for living in smart cities by being able to use the technology they offer.