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Here are the top 10 smartest cities in the world — and none are in the U.S.

Smart cities in Europe and Asia are gaining ground globally while North American cities have fallen down the ranks, according to the 2024 Smart City Index released April.

Of the top 10 smart cities on the list, seven were in Europe.

This year's index was produced by the IMD World Competitiveness Center's Smart City Observatory in collaboration with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) that's based in Seoul, South Korea.

The report ranks 142 smart cities worldwide based on data analyzed by researchers, as well as survey responses of 120 residents in each city. The study captures an overview of how the infrastructure and technology available in a city impacts the city's performance and the quality of life of its inhabitants.

So, what is a smart city?

According to the IMD , a smart city is defined as "an urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanization for its citizens."

With very few exceptions, cities in the top 20 are geographically located in areas where social and economic environments are relatively predictable, even against the overall climate of global uncertainties. IMD Smart City Index 2024

The cities that perform well on the list have also developed initiatives that cater to their citizens' overall quality of life.

"Such initiatives have focused on developing green spaces and broadening opportunities for cultural events and social bonding, for example," according to the report.

"In the majority of these leading cities, such efforts have been combined with innovative strategies to attract and retain talent, foster investment in a selective fashion [e.g. pro-sustainability], and tackle long standing issues regarding geographical inequalities and inclusion," the report said.

Here are the top 10 smart cities, according to the 2024 Smart City Index.

• Zurich, Switzerland
• Oslo, Norway
• Canberra, Australia
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Lausanne, Switzerland
• London, England
• Helsinki, Finland
• Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Notably, for the first time since the index's inception in 2019, there is an absence of North American cities in the top 20.

"Using three year moving averages (i.e. comparing a city's average ranking for the period 2021-24 to that of the period 2020-23), a significant number of US cities have been losing ground," according to the report.

"This is the case in particular for Washington DC, Denver, and Los Angeles (-12, -12, and -11 respectively), but also for San Francisco (-9), New York City (-7), and Chicago (-4)."

The highest ranking U.S. city this year is New York City which ranked 34th, followed by Boston at 36th and Washington DC, coming in at 50th place.

While European cities dominated the list, Asian cities are gaining ground too.

Here are the top 5 smart cities in Asia:

• Singapore (5th)
• Beijing (13th)
• Taipei City (16th)
• Seoul (17th)
• Shanghai (19th)

Singapore has consistently ranked among the top 10 positions since the index's inception in 2019. It ranked 7th from 2020 to 2023 — except in 2022 when no rankings were released, and jumped up two positions this year.

Taipei City has also jumped 13 positions over the last year, from 29th in 2023 to 16th this year.

"Cities must design and adopt strategies that can resist the test of a future plagued with growing uncertainties, " said Bruno Lanvin, president of the Smart City Observatory.

"Health-related concerns remain high, while climate-related ones grow even larger; a mix complicated by renewed international tensions. Trust and good governance are growing in importance, and the significance of Al in city design and management is set to increase," he said in the report.

"Counterintuitive as it may sound, Al can help cities to become more human-centric," Lanvin added.

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10 US cities ready for a ‘smart city future’

“The cities that will thrive in the future will be the ones best adapted to our new and greener ways of living,” one ProptechOS executive said.

Tomorrow’s smart cities will require tech-centric job markets in addition to technology and green infrastructure, according to a recent report by real estate technology company ProptechOS.

ProptechOS considered 11 indicators to evaluate each location’s smart city technology readiness, including the availability of free WiFi hotspots, broadband download speeds and airports. It also considered the number — total and per 100,000 people — of IoT companies and public-access electric vehicle charging points, as well as the total number of 5G network towers and green-certified buildings. In addition to infrastructure, the report looked at the number of tech jobs available in each area.

"The cities that will thrive in the future will be the ones best adapted to our new and greener ways of living. By looking at a range of factors, including tech infrastructure, sustainability, and the tech-driven job market, we were able to get a better picture of the U.S. and European cities will be leading the way into a smarter future,” said Erik Wallin, founder and chief ecosystem officer at ProptechOS, in an emailed statement.

10 US cities best prepared for a ‘smart city future’

Recommended reading.

• The 10 most future-ready cities in North America: report By Michael Brady • Nov. 15, 2022

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What is Smart Tourism (And Why Does it Matter)?

The concept of Smart Tourism is defined by the European Union as a destination facilitating access to tourism and hospitality products, services, spaces and experiences through ICT-based (Information and communications technology) tools. By investing and developing these resources a city’s intelligence is strengthened and visitor engagement enhanced. This has implications on businesses and individuals alike who benefit from a more efficient infrastructure and service provision.

But why should you care about Smart Tourism?

In recent times the Tourism sector has been hit the hardest out of any other industry worldwide with the advancements of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smart Tourist destinations will now be the focal point for city regeneration and to soften the blow of seasonal tourist destinations. Smart Tourism facilitates this by creating an environment in which a holiday-maker can prosper and has been shown to trigger positive user experiences in visitors. 1.8 billion people are expected to be travelling the world by 2030 according to UN News highlighting the importance of placemaking and putting your city on the map for potential visitors.

Hello Lamp Post have been able to show tangible cause and effect on overall visitor experience through their implementation of a feedback loop at the Sydney Harbour Trust . This two way communication system allowed the governing body to understand the needs and wants of the tourists visiting and implement the necessary resources to accommodate these needs. It also provided a means for Sydney Harbour Trust to understand the vision of its constituents for the future of the area. While doing so they were able to connect the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust to a previously inaccessible demographic.

Terms to Know

The notion of smart Tourism comes as a result of the European Union’s Smart Tourism Directive, which looks to “promote smart tourism in the EU, network and strengthen destinations, and facilitate the exchange of best practices”. Before taking a deep dive into smart tourism we must first assess tourism as a concept. Tourism is commonly broken down to five core elements known as the Five A’s of tourism (Accessibility, Accommodation, Amenities, Attractions and Activities).

By interpreting the 5 A’s of tourism into the context of smart tourism we can see clearly the potential for citizen and participatory technology, to further enhance the overall tourist experience in a region.

How can smart tourism help you?

Analysing smart tourism.

You’re probably thinking to yourself “How can you judge a city’s intelligence?”. The assessment criteria is broken into four main areas on which the smart tourism solution is judged.

Accessibility

Sustainability, digitalisation.

• Have the correct measures been implemented to positively impact local business and local communities, tangible and, where possible, measurable impacts of the implementations? On the Maritime Mile in Belfast Hello Lamp Post implemented a solution to help increase footfall, visitor dwell times and obtain citizen feedback. The project was awarded ‘Best Use of Digital Technology to Improve the Visitor Experience’ at the 2019 Northern Ireland Tourism Awards.
• Being a digital tourism city means offering innovative tourism and hospitality information, products, services, spaces and experiences adapted to the needs of the consumers through ICT-based solutions and digital tools.
• The city must be shown to be providing digital information about the destination, its attractions and tourism offers.
• Is your information on public transport, attractions and accommodation digitally accessible ? An environment should be created in which businesses have a digital-friendly support network to develop in.
• Are you supporting tourism businesses in their development and making use of digital skills and tools? Hello Lamp Post’s deployment in Bristol showcases the perfect example of leveraging digital skills and tools to enhance citizen engagement, see for yourself.
• Do you use digital solutions for enhancing innovative tourism offers ?

Creative and Cultural Heritage

• Is your city making resourceful use of its cultural heritage and creative industries to enrich tourism experience and quality of life ?
• What actions are you implementing to boost the recognition of your city as a smart tourism destination and to incorporate the tangible and intangible heritage of your art, history and culture in its centre and surroundings, in your enhanced tourism offer? The Arts Centre in Mesa Arizona was home to a Hello Lamp Post project directly aimed at promoting creative opportunities around the local area. Hello Mesa showcased how Hello Lamp Post’s technology can be used to make informed decisions on how local heritage should be showcased.
• How do you use cultural heritage and creativity to attract tourists, as well as exploit synergies between tourism and cultural and creative industries? Hello Lamp Post was able to aid this process during the “Big Bugs Tour” in INTU in the U.K by adding a playful experiential layer to the tour.

If you think your city could be in with a chance apply here .

Your Next Smart Tourism Destination

Let’s look at some examples of great smart tourism destinations:

Malaysia – Smart Tourism Malaysia – “Advances in digital technology are impacting how people travel, demanding tourism-related businesses to transform the way they operate” – said Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister for Tourism who has headed the Smart Tourism 4.0 initiative in Malaysia which has received outstanding praise from a global audience. The project’s main aim was to overcome urban challenges but at a local level as is shown on the smart city Malaysia website . The 92 indicators used in the project’s formation have performed above and beyond their initial intentions and have been regarded as a resounding success.

Gothenburg – Gothenburg is a small town in Sweden that has for the last four years been recognised as the European Capital of Smart Tourism. The town of 533,00 has received continuous investment in smart city technology over the last number of years, allowing it to grow from smart to smarter. These investments were mainly centred around sustainability and improving the lives of both the citizens and visitors in the town. Gothenburg is currently developing a strategy to become the first region in the world with fully zero-emission transport solutions , find out more at Smart City Sweden .

Malaga – The €31 million SmartCity Malaga project looked to implement a renewable energy solution for the people in the Spanish municipality, made up of half a million citizens. This solution took the form of LED lighting to save energy, installing more than 35 km of cycle paths and an app that allows people who are visually impaired to get tickets, interpret information and request assistance. The overall goal of this project was to strengthen Spain’s position as a global tourist destination which they have done to great avail.

Applying A Human-centric Approach to Smart Tourism

This is where we come in. Hello Lamp Post have shown their ability in the past to enable smart tourism destinations, to delve into the thoughts and ideas of their visitors through their innovative AI conversational tool. But don’t take our word for it, listen to what our client at the Sydney Harbour Trust had to say:

“This innovative and fun technology has provided another avenue for the Harbour Trust to connect with our community and visitors. It provides a simple and engaging way for visitors to discover more about Harbour Trust sites and also allows us to gain important insights into the visitor experience and obtain broad community feedback on Harbour Trust projects.” – Kathryn Roberts, Director of Marketing and Visitor Experience at the Harbour Trust

Long gone are the days of traditional city design. Humans are now the focal point for local planners and tourist engagement boards alike. Data has now become a more valuable asset than water and a responsibility is now on governing bodies to ensure resources are being positioned effectively so as to maximise benefit for residents and visitors alike. We here at Hello Lamp Post believe we can improve and enhance this process. Contact us using our contact form here . Back

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What is a 'smart city'? 

Shining a light on what it means for a city to be 'smart'. Image:  REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

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• Participants in a World Bank event share their thoughts on what makes a city 'smart'?
• Technology, innovation and connection were key words associated with smart cities.
• Panelists also offered their thoughts on what makes a smart city.

What is a smart city ? We’ve heard the term in contexts as diverse as urban planning and governance, transport, energy, the environment, health, and education. We’ve also noticed that the notion of smart cities relies on a range of technologies—including the internet of things (IoT), mobile solutions, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain. Because of this connection with technology, we’ve had concerns about how smart cities will address issues such as data privacy and social exclusion. We see a risk that urban areas with poor web connectivity could be left out of the smart-cities trend. We’d like to continue an open dialogue on this trend.

Have you read?

Being smart about smart cities: a governance roadmap for digital technologies, how blockchain can empower smart cities - and why interoperability will be crucial, our alliance is creating smart city governance.

At the World Bank’s Global Smart City Partnership Program, we held a Virtual Knowledge Exchange Program on Smart Cities for Sustainable Development , jointly organized with the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus , to discuss the trend. At the event, we polled more than 260 participants from around the world to find out what they thought a smart city would be, what makes a urban area and its citizens smart, and what they wanted to see in their own smart city. As the word cloud shows, “technology,” “innovation,” and “connection” were the first words that came to participants’ minds when they thought of smart cities. “Citizen participation” and “data” make a community and its citizens smart , according to most of the participants. Around half chose “sustainability” as a priority in their vision for a smart city, and a quarter voted for “resilience.” We asked our panelists similar questions; here are five takeaways.

The Data for the City of Tomorrow report highlighted that in 2023, around 56% of the world is urbanized. Almost 65% of people use the internet. Soon, 75% of the world’s jobs will require digital skills.

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation is at the forefront of advancing public-private collaboration in cities. It enables more resilient and future-ready communities and local economies through green initiatives and the ethical use of data.

Learn more about our impact:

• Net Zero Carbon Cities: Through this initiative, we are sharing more than 200 leading practices to promote sustainability and reducing emissions in urban settings and empower cities to take bold action towards achieving carbon neutrality .
• G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance: We are dedicated to establishing norms and policy standards for the safe and ethical use of data in smart cities , leading smart city governance initiatives in more than 36 cities around the world.
• Empowering Brazilian SMEs with IoT adoption : We are removing barriers to IoT adoption for small and medium-sized enterprises in Brazil – with participating companies seeing a 192% return on investment.
• IoT security: Our Council on the Connected World established IoT security requirements for consumer-facing devices . It engages over 100 organizations to safeguard consumers against cyber threats.
• Healthy Cities and Communities: Through partnerships in Jersey City and Austin, USA, as well as Mumbai, India, this initiative focuses on enhancing citizens' lives by promoting better nutritional choices, physical activity, and sanitation practices.

Want to know more about our centre’s impact or get involved? Contact us .

Michael Donaldson, Chief Technology Officer of the City of Barcelona , said that he has seen a shift in the understanding of smart cities from associations with data and technology to a layered definition embracing “citizen intelligence” and “humanizing technology.” Barcelona’s digital participatory platform enables citizens to help direct city management by suggesting ideas. “Citizens have a lot of experience about the city, and we need to gather this intelligence in order to make better decisions,” he said.

Alice Charles, Head of Cities and Real Estate at the World Economic Forum , noted the changing role of the private sector in smart cities from “selling widgets and gadgets to the cities” to “promoting an outcome-driven model.” Companies are focusing on technologies that help urban leaders achieve their goals. This model requires stronger partnerships among cities, the private sector, civil society, and academia. Examples include the Smart Cities Challenge by Infrastructure Canada; City Possible , by Mastercard; and the Helsinki Energy Challenge.

Martin Weiss, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh , sees an opportunity in the wake of COVID-19 to find out what alternative smart worlds would look like. Digital technology has stood out, as it facilitates remote work, private and public online service delivery, and contactless interactions. He said, “We will focus on different questions than before, like how we make access to high-speed services less dependent on heavy infrastructure investments.”

Pedro Vidal, Intelligent Transport Systems Coordinator at the Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications , said that the pandemic hit mobility and public transportation services hard. “We have made alliances with universities to understand behavioral trends and are convinced that there are some changes in mobility preferences,” he said. “We created lanes for bicycles and developed measures for using public spaces in a safe way. We have seen an increase in the use of public transport. This can be transformed into a big opportunity to have a more sustainable city.”

Rudi Borrmann, Deputy Director at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Local , emphasized the importance of openness and transparency in gathering and using data for public services, especially during the pandemic. He said that the first step toward creating a smart city is for local governments to improve the way they coordinate and communicate transparently with stakeholders. “Openness needs to be at the center of creating trust in bringing solutions to the citizens by using technology,” Borrmann says. OGP recently started the Open Response Recovery Campaign , in which the partnership developed a series of recommendations on how to better use open government as a way to strengthen trust during the pandemic.

All told, it looks as though a smart city is one that uses technology to efficiently engage citizens and meet their needs. In the post-pandemic era, we must prioritize measures to address inequality and digital divides, which leave many of the poor, and poor cities, behind. Data privacy and transparency must be protected. Cities become smarter when citizens and communities use technology to coproduce an environment where their digital rights are protected and their cities are made more sustainable.

Watch the recording of the full discussion here .

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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When exploring cities, there’s currently no middle ground between hiring a tour guide for the day and trawling through guidebooks and articles. We realised there was a noticeable lack of quality, relevant, and incisive information about a city’s most important points of interest. That’s where Urbs comes in, an app with a curated library of audio descriptions, bespoke tour routes according to your preferences, and essential travel knowledge specific to your location. Our scripts have been crafted by cultural experts, and their stories narrated by professional voice-over artists. It makes for a seamless and immersive travelling experience like no other.

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Lighting up the world… in audio.

It’s time to explore the world in a new way. Whether you’re hitting the buzzing streets of Berlin, basking in the sunshine of Barcelona, roaming around Rome, or frolicking in the countryside in England, you’ll want to explore and unearth the very best gems each city has to offer.

We get it. You want to drink where the locals drink, dine where the hipsters hang, visit talked about and newly discovered sights, and have fun in the best cities around the world. And Urbs is going to take you right there.

Our unique self-guided audio tours offer an immersive experience to make the most of your surroundings. Our carefully curated audio tour guide app is created by a pool of cultural experts dotted around the world, brought directly to your headphones.

So whether you’re looking for walking tours, boat tours, GPS guided tours or any other kind of guided tour, your journey starts here – with a self-guided tour.

The travel hack you need

We’re not a podcast, but you can listen to local stories performed by professionals.  We’re not a traditional tour guide, but we offer self-guided audio tours.  We’re not a city map, but we’ll get you from A to Z.

We’re not a guide book, but you can learn about a destination’s rich history.  We’re not a travel operator, but you’ll never want to leave home without us.

Simply put, we’re the modern version of a travel guide, travel podcast, map and tour guide rolled into an audio tour guide app. Be done with cumbersome city guides that take up space and stop you from seeing the sights. Take it all in, quite literally, with our GPS audio tours at the touch of a button. Simply download the Urbs app, pop on your headphones and you’re all set, from whatever European location you find yourself in.

What is a self-guided audio tour?

If you’ve ever listened to a podcast and thought it was intriguing, read a travel guide and found it rewarding, and experienced an audio tour and considered it enriching, you’ll love Urbs. Our leading audio tour guide app is the first of its kind to bring together all the best bits of travel resources in one place.

But it’s also travel with a difference. Because our city guides are ready to be compiled by you. Pick and choose from the attractions and places to visit, and experience them at your own pace. No two guides are ever the same, because no two travellers are the same.

Stretching across the very best of Europe, there are 13 destinations in our collection of exclusive GPS city guides.

These include: London, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Rome and Venice with more to come!

Why listeners love us

It’s said that travel broadens the mind… but only if you visit the right places. That’s what makes Urbs special. Our app has been designed around the user experience, allowing you to uncover the very best of a city. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular features:

Create your own narrative

What works for one traveller may not for another, which is why we invite users to customise their own GPS audio tour. Our audio tour guide app allows individual users to build their own tour route according to their personal preferences. Choose from attractions such as museums, public squares, places of worship and cultural sites, or simply find an excellent local bar, café or restaurant.

Great for explorers

Our self-guided audio tours are perfect for unleashing your inner wanderlust. Search from hundreds of nearby activities and sights in your chosen city. From private boat rides to guided walking tours to trekking the highest mountain peaks. Whether you’re seeking out little-known wildlife parks or world-famous national parks, live your best life with a GPS audio tour designed just for you.

Discover new places

We’re here to enhance your trip and bring magic to travel. So, whether it’s your first of fifth time to a destination, we promise you’ll discover something new to experience in your chosen city. It’s true, we’re full of surprises and delights!

It’s the future of travel

If you’re one of the many people concerned about their travel eco-footprint, take comfort knowing that our GPS audio tours help cut back on printed materials. Simply log on from any smart phone or device and let the app work its magic. It’s a sign of things to come.

For Instagram selfies

If Instagram selfies in far-flung destinations is what you came for, we’ve got something for you. Our self-guided tour app also includes a text-version handy city guide, which includes the best vantage points in the city for photos. From the regions to the cities, and the tumbling hills of Italy, to the architectural delights of Greece, we’ve done all the hard work so you don’t have to. It’s the perfect way to experience travel, with access to valuable content.

Easy as A to Z

Whether you plan to travel by foot, or by car on a driving tour, the Urbs audio tour guide app is loaded with useful features that help you to get around easily and at your own pace. This app is packed with tons of useful information about your destination, including getting about with ease. Read up on local public transport, as well as getting to and from airports and say goodbye to asking strangers for directions.

It’s a bit like having Google in your pocket, our GPS guided tours are one of the most creative and inspiring ways to get under the skin of a city. Be it a city break, or longer holiday, there are lots of fun ideas for making the most of your precious time abroad. Tens of thousands of visitors are already benefitting from Urbs – why not join the long list of travellers that love our audio tour guide app.

So, what are you waiting for? Download the Urbs app today and bring your travel dreams to life.

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​secure, sustainable smart cities and the iot.

Smart cities aren't just a concept or a dream of the future.

Many are already active and expanding rapidly thanks to the wildly innovative Internet of Things (IoT) solutions .

Municipal governments are leveraging cellular and Low Power Wide Area (LPWAN) wireless technologies to connect and improve infrastructure, efficiency, convenience, and quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

Let's dive in.

What is a smart city?

A big part of this ICT framework is an intelligent network of connected objects and machines (a digital city ) transmitting data using wireless technology and the cloud. 

Cloud-based IoT applications receive, analyze, and manage data in real-time to help municipalities, enterprises, and citizens make better decisions that improve quality of life.

Citizens engage with smart city ecosystems using smartphones, mobile devices, and  connected cars and homes. Pairing devices and data with a city's physical infrastructure and services can cut costs and improve sustainability. 

Communities can improve energy distribution , streamline trash collection , decrease traffic congestion, and improve air quality with help from the IoT.

Smart cities are examples of massive IoT use cases.

For instance, 

• Connected traffic lights receive data from sensors and cars, adjusting light cadence and timing to respond to real-time traffic and reducing road congestion. 
• Connected cars can communicate with parking meters and electric vehicle (EV)charging docks and direct drivers to the nearest available spot. 
• Smart garbage cans automatically send data to waste management companies and schedule pick-up as needed versus a pre-planned schedule. 
• Citizens' smartphones become their mobile driver's license and ID cards with digital credentials, which speeds up and simplifies access to city and local government services. 

These smart city technologies are optimizing infrastructure, mobility, public services, and utilities.

MORE :  How smart is your city? (January 2023) (Infographic)

Why do we need smart cities?

Urbanization is a non-ending phenomenon. 

Today, 54% of people worldwide live in cities, a proportion that's expected to reach 66% by 2050 . 

With population growth, urbanization will add another 2.5 billion people to cities over the next three decades.

Environmental, social, and economic sustainability is a must to keep pace with this rapid expansion taxing our cities' resources.

One hundred ninety-three countries agreed upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda in September 2015 at the United Nations.

But we all know how centralized decisions and actions can take time, and the clock is ticking.

The good news?

Citizens and local authorities are more agile in launching swift initiatives, and smart city technology is paramount to achieving these goals.

How is IoT technology making cities smarter and better?

Secure wireless connectivity and IoT technology are transforming traditional elements of city life - like streetlights - into next-generation intelligent lighting platforms with expanded capabilities. 

The scope includes integrating solar power and connecting to a cloud-based central control system with other ecosystem assets.

These solutions shine far beyond simple lighting needs. 

• High-power-embedded LEDs alert commuters about traffic issues, provide severe weather warnings, and provide a heads-up when fires arise. 
• Streetlights can also detect free parking spaces and E.V. charging docks and alert drivers where to find an open spot via a mobile app. Charging might even be possible from the lamppost itself in some locations! 

Exciting stuff!

But how does it all fit together?

What makes smart cities successful

In addition to people, dwellings, commerce, and traditional urban infrastructure, there are four essential elements necessary for thriving smart cities:

• Pervasive wireless connectivity
• Security you can trust in
• Flexible monetization schemes

Let's break it down.

What's the best wireless technology for smart cities?

The first building block of any smart city application is reliable, pervasive wireless connectivity. 

While there's no one-size-fits-all, evolving Low Power Wide Area Network ( LPWAN ) technologies are well suited to most smart city applications for their cost efficiency and ubiquity. 

These technologies include LTE Cat M, NB-IoT, LoRa, Bluetooth, and others that all contribute to the fabric of connected cities. 

The advent of 5G technology  is expected to be a watershed event that propels smart city technology into the mainstream and accelerates new deployments. 

But only with a few more elements…

Opening the data vault

Historically, governments, enterprises, and individuals have held their data close to their pockets, sharing as little as possible with others. 

Today, open data is redefining the digital city.

Privacy concerns and fear of security breaches have far outweighed the perceived value of sharing information (see  Portland and privacy ). 

However, a key enabler of sustainable smart cities is that all participants in the complex ecosystem  share information and combine it with contextual data analyzed in real time.

This is how informed decisions are made in real time. 

Multiple sectors must cooperate to achieve sustainable outcomes by analyzing real-time contextual information shared among sector-specific information and operational technology (O.T.) systems.

The conclusion?

Data management (and access to this information) represents the backbone of the digital city.

Stay with us. Here is what we mean.

Examples of smart cities

New york city.

Below are helpful links to some of New York City's significant initiatives mentioned in the video above.

• The New York City Department of Transportation's Midtown in Motion  is a congestion management system that has improved travel times on Midtown's avenues by 10%.
• The NYCx Challenges initiative from the NYC Mayor's Office of the Chief Technology Officer invites entrepreneurs, technologists, and tech professionals to participate in open competitions and propose bold ideas that solve real urban needs such as pollution, income inequality, and transport (site closed).
• LinkNYC provides free super-fast free Wi-Fi , phone calls, device charging, and a tablet to access city services, maps, and directions. It's a unique communications network replacing payphones across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. 
• Cyber NYC is the city's strategic investment to dominate cybersecurity . It aims to grow New York City's  cybersecurity workforce , help companies  drive innovation  and build networks and community spaces . 
• MyNYCHA mobile app and web portal allow public housing residents to manage services online. It addresses over 300 public developments across New York City. Launched in 2015, MyNYCHA is a free service that puts the repair process in residents' hands. Residents can submit, schedule, and manage work tickets online. They can also subscribe to alerts for outages in their developments, view inspection appointments, and pay their rent.
• Biking in New York City : read the J uly 2019 plan for cycling in the city.
• Automated water meters in NYC: Automated Meter Reading systems consist of small devices connected to individual water meters. They send daily readings to a computerized billing system.
• The  My DEP Account  lets New Yorkers track consumption from home. The system eliminates the need for a water meter reader to visit the premises. It allows the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor citywide consumption more closely and manage the city's water supply system more effectively.
• New York's data report - Open Data for All - provides free public data published by various local agencies. This tool opens data for people to make a difference in their communities—including educators, students, artists, builders, small business owners, advocates, reporters, and community board members. It also means open data for the 300,000 workers who make New York City safer, cleaner, and more equitable.
• More on the New York City Internet of Things strategy and IoT progress report (December 20 2021.)

Amsterdam Smart City

Amsterdam is a shining example of a well-connected smart city reaping the rewards of opening the data vault. The Smart City initiative began in 2009 and included over 170 projects.

It also shares traffic and transportation data with interested parties, such as developers, who then create mapping apps connected to the city's transport systems. 

Now, navigating the city is a snap for all. 

There's more.

The city built autonomous delivery boats called ' roboats ' to keep things moving in a timely fashion. 

It also supported a floating village of houses, solving the city's overcrowding problem with a sustainable, energy-efficient alternative. Power is generated within communities, and homes receive water straight from the river and filter it within their tanks. 

None of this is possible without shared data.

City data is available online for all.

• Lessons from Amsterdam's Smart City initiative from the MIT Sloan Management Review

Here is another example.

Antwerp and the city of things

Antwerp is a partner in the E.U.'s CITADEL project. It explores the role of technology in a collaborative government.

The city is also about to create Europe's largest smart zone.

Copenhagen Smart City

Copenhagen is known as one of the smartest cities in the world and mobilizes expertise worldwide.

The city is leveraging open data to collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop an innovative intelligent bike system . 

Embedded with sensors that provide real-time information to riders and administrators, data is shared to monitor and manage air quality and traffic congestion.

• Technologies to create data-driven solutions that suit Copenhagen and its citizens
• Singapore has been ranked the world's smartest city. What does a smart city look like on the streets and in the homes of Singapore?
• In India, Bhopal is ranked #1 in the new ranking released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Times of India, February 7 2021.)
• Dholera smart city : One of the first smart cities in India

While data sharing is essential, opening the vault also expands the cyber-attack surface area. 

So, how do we keep data private from the masses while sharing it among stakeholders?

Can smart cities be secured and trusted?

In digital cities, connected cameras, intelligent road systems, and public safety monitoring systems can provide an added layer of protection and emergency support to aid citizens when needed. 

• But what about protecting smart cities themselves from vulnerabilities? 
• How can we defend against hacking, cyber-attacks, and data theft? 
• In cities where multiple participants share information, how do we trust that participants are who they say they are? 
• And how do we know the data they report is true and accurate? 

The answers lie in physical data vaults, strong authentication, and I.D. management solutions.

Smart cities can only work if we can trust them. 

Four core security objectives for smart city solutions

All ecosystem partners - governments, enterprises, software providers, device manufacturers, energy providers, and network service providers - must do their part and integrate solutions that abide by four core security objectives:  

• Availability: Without actionable, real-time, and reliable data access, the smart city can't thrive. How information is collected, distilled, and shared is critical, and security solutions must avoid adverse effects on availability.
• Integrity: Smart cities depend on reliable and accurate data. Measures must be taken to ensure that data is accurate and free from manipulation.
• Confidentiality: Some of the collected, stored, and analyzed data will include sensitive details about consumers. Steps must be taken to prevent unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information.
• Accountability: Users of a system must be responsible for their actions. Their interactions with sensitive systems should be logged and associated with a specific user. These logs should be difficult to forge and have reliable integrity protection.

Strong authentication and I.D. management solutions must be integrated into the ecosystem to ensure data is shared only with authorized parties to achieve these core security objectives.

The solutions also protect backend systems from intrusion and hacking. 

Thankfully, legislation is being introduced to address threats and potential market failure due to growing digital security concerns.

Like the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act in the U.S. , signed on December 4 2020, or the U.K. IoT security law (not passed yet in June 2021), legislation will help establish minimum security requirements for connected devices.

Show me the Money: how do we monetize smart cities?

Data is the new oil in the age of IoT and smart cities. 

For smart cities to thrive, we must establish sustainable commerce models that facilitate the success of all ecosystem players.

The software must be woven into the fabric of IoT solutions to benefit all ecosystem contributors; this includes OEMs, developers, integrators, governments, etc.

Each member's intellectual property needs to be valued and rewarded. 

Subscription software capabilities enable new business models that allow each contributor to extract value from their contribution to the ecosystem. 

Subscription-based models offer a way to monetize hardware and software to build smart infrastructures and spread out expenses, moving away from substantial one-time CAPEX spending. 

• For example, expensive medical equipment like MRI scanners can be sold on a cost-per-scan basis rather than as a one-time upfront expense for hospitals. This creates a win-win situation for hospitals and suppliers alike. 
• And one day soon, cities will offer affordable subscriptions to fleets of vehicles shared between owners who may choose from an array of custom options. This move could radically reduce traffic and optimize traffic patterns and ride-sharing.

As urban areas continue to expand and grow, smart city technology is developing, enhancing sustainability and better serving humanity. 

By leveraging pervasive connectivity, open data, end-to-end security, and software monetization solutions, we can align evolving smart city needs for a much-improved experience for all ecosystem partners.

More resources on smart cities

• Top 50 Smart City Governments in 2021 ( Eden Strategy Institute - March 31 2021)
• Top 10 smart cities in the world : London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Hong Kong.  Forbes July 8 2020
• Top 10 smart cities in the United States : New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, San Diego, Miami, and Houston. IESE business school.  Cities in motion 2020 .
• The top 3 smart cities in Canada (Cities in motion - October 2020) are Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. 
• India's Smart Cities Mission : The Indian Government's program for smart city development
• Smart cities in India : India's smart cities challenge nominees
• Is Singapore the world's smartest city ? by Thales
• The European innovation partnership on smart cities and communities ( the European Commission )
• Six essential technologies make smart cities : smart energy, transportation, data, infrastructure, mobility, and devices. TechRepublic August 2016
• Impact of the Internet of things on smart cities  KPMG May 2019

Intelligent infrastructure pilot launched in Texas (March 11 2021)

• Seven ways cities are getting smarter  by Thales
• The pandemic accelerates the rise of digital cities (April 1 2021)
• Sidewalk Labs in Toronto : what's next? (May 2020)
• Smart ports : Examples around the world

What does "smart grid" mean?

IoT regulations (July 2021)

Now it's your turn

Indeed, we can't claim to list all the critical concepts and issues related to smart cities and the IoT and those that will emerge in the years to come. 

Can you fill in some of the gaps?

If you've something to say on smart cities, share best practices, have a question to ask, or have found this article useful, please leave a comment in the box below.

We'd also welcome suggestions on improving it or proposals for future papers.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Contact a local representative for more information on building trusted, smart city solutions.  

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Stand-up paddleboarders explore Lady Bird Lake.

• SMART CITIES

Smart Cities: Austin, Texas

The Texas capital constantly invents new ways to wow.

Austin used to be known as Texas’ progressive pocket and a slacker paradise where musicians, artists, and postgrads on shoestring budgets could comfortably “get stuck.”

Today, the fastest growing city in the U.S. is frequently referred to as “the Silicon Valley of the South” (or that place where your friends from Brooklyn just moved to open a vegan-friendly, gluten-free food truck). Austin has attracted a slew of start-ups, 6,000 high-tech companies, and a billion dollars in annual investments that keep the city’s creative culture and productive potential on the rise.

Here are reasons to celebrate the innovative Texas capital:

Green Team: Austin ranks as one of the top 20 fittest cities in America, with 48 percent of residents living within walking distance of a park. Around 14 percent of the city is an urban green space, including the popular Lady Bird Lake .

The Picnic food trailer park brings lunch to natural Barton Springs Pool.

Launchpad : Entrepreneurs flock to Austin partly because of success stories like Mikaila Ulmer, the industrious pre-teen CEO who recently scored an $11 million deal with Whole Foods to sell her organic juice line, Me & the Bees Lemonade .

Surround Sound : There’s no escaping Austin’s music scene—even underwater. The new Hotel Van Zandt is a chic salute to the Live Music Capital of the World, outfitted with wow factors like an underwater sound system in the rooftop pool.

New Brew: Travelers can still find Lone Star tallboys in almost any local bar, but craft beer is a thriving industry. The city’s dotted with renegade brewers and new operations like the Blue Owl Brewery , which invented a “souring unit” scale to measure the lactic acid content of their sour-mashed beers.

Beloved Bats: Everyone complains about Austin’s mosquitoes, but nobody minds the urban bat colony. Maybe that’s because 1.5 million bats emerge from the Congress Avenue Bridge every night (March through November) to consume as much as 20,000 pounds of insects.

Futuristic Transport: Austin’s infamous battle against traffic is making strides despite enduring gridlock. It’s now home to a fleet of self-driving cars and the B-cycle bike-share has exponentially increased access and affordability citywide. Nearly 100,000 riders use B-cycle, which has offset 1.1 million pounds of carbon since its launch.

Local Swimming Hole: A swim at Barton Springs is a holy rite for Austinites. So when the population of an endemic salamander species plummeted in the spring-fed pool during the 1990s, local devotees fought to list it as endangered. Federal protection in 1997 led to large-scale conservation initiatives that preserve the springs to this day.

Game Fame: The indie game community is a decentralized magnet for the city’s most talented developers. The independent collective Juegos Rancheros hosts monthly interactive showcases and events like Fantastic Arcade, a free gaming festival held every September.

The Continental Club has hosted live music since 1955.

The Texas flag decorates the Broken Spoke, a honky-tonk dance hall.

Film Stars: Aspects of Austin’s film industry have achieved mainstream notoriety, from SXSW to Matthew McConaughey, but the capital’s love of all things fringe and far-out is celebrated at Fantastic Fest (September), the annual festival dedicated to horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and cult films.

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Historic Pride: High-rises are a dime a dozen, but classic music venues are sacred. The Broken Spoke , the historic honky-tonk, still operates (in between apartment buildings) and a revamped Antone’s , “Austin’s home of the blues,” recently reopened three blocks from its original Sixth Street location.

Local Eats: International acclaim continues to nourish Austin’s rip-roaring culinary scene, but the city’s boldest talents keep their focus hyper-local. The entire concept behind new restaurant Emmer & Rye’s daily menu rotation, nose-to-tail butchery, and in-house fermentation program is designed to support area producers, farmers, and ranchers.

App Happy: Some made-in-Austin ventures like Favor , a mobile app that “delivers anything,” attribute their success to surrounding inspirations—aka catering to huge numbers of college kids and tech developers who can’t pull themselves away from their laptops long enough to enjoy brunch (or pick up their dry cleaning).

Mixing it Up: Skyrocketing urban density has spawned a counterbalanced trend of sustainable mixed-use public spaces, like the ongoing transformation of downtown’s Waller Creek , which will be a meandering greenbelt park when fully realized.

Creative Force: Live music is just one feather in Austin’s cap. The city empowers its wildly eclectic creative sector and travelers reap the benefits, from free citywide arts festivals, dozens of museums and galleries, multicultural collectives, and public art that can be seen on every street corner.

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World's Smart City

Says national geographic channel, world's smart cities: san diego.

National Geographic Channel features San Diego as the only U.S. city in its acclaimed documentary series "World's Smart Cities". San Diego was chosen for its strong technology sector, local innovators, green practices, smart public planning and an unparalleled quality of life. Other selection factors included San Diego's size of population, demographics/cultural diversity, livability, economy and business climate, educational institutions, leadership and strong sense of community.

National Geographic Channel's "World's Smart Cities: San Diego" documentary is an unprecedented exploration of the 8th largest U.S. city where technology, talent and innovation create a new urban environment - one that will emerge as a leading city in the 21st century.

"Both business and leisure travelers have known about San Diego's appealing weather and friendly beach lifestyle for years," said Joe Terzi, President and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. "However, 'World's Smart Cities' has shown viewers worldwide that San Diego has more than a sunny outlook. The city's talent, innovation and creativity highlighted in this documentary prove that San Diego's business environment and local culture are among the world's best."

The documentary has been shown in over 60 countries reaching approximately 250 million households world-wide.

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How Wi-Fi on the metro and e-voting helped Moscow achieve its top smart city rating

Business Long Reads Internet of Things

By Sam Forsdick    19 Jun 2019

Moscow was awarded the highest rating by the UN for its smart city credentials, with innovations in connectivity, e-government and education helping it to attain the top rank

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Saint Basil's Cathedral. Red Square in Moscow, Russia (Credit: Steffan Jensen/Flickr)

The Russian capital of Moscow was the highest rated smart city in a United Nations review of digital services across 40 global municipalities.

Although Moscow may sound an unlikely contender for the title, its digitisation of government services and integration of new technologies helped it to take top place in July 2018.

Artem Ermolaev, the former Minister of IT for Moscow and current president at the non-profit organisation Smart Cities, says: “We made a big jump from last position in the Russian Federation to first place in the United Nations ratings for smart cities .”

During London Tech Week , Mr Ermolaev explained some of the smart city innovations being used in Moscow.

Bringing Wi-Fi to the metro

Connectivity is crucial to powering any smart city, and one of the places where connectivity is normally restricted is on underground transport.

Ermolaev says: “When you create a smart city, you can’t create it without the infrastructure, so that was our first goal.

“The biggest challenge was the Wi-Fi because we needed to create the opportunity for all citizens to be connected online for free.

“We implemented the most comprehensive underground Wi-Fi network in the metro , which reaches approximately five million people per day.”

Some 330km of the Moscow metro is now covered by Wi-Fi and perhaps more impressively, it was provided at no cost to the local government.

Ermolaev adds: “It was done with zero investment from the city, because we offered telecommunications companies free advertising in return for helping to set up the Wi-Fi network.

“Users have to watch 30 seconds of advertisement before going online but receive free internet connection in return.

“That that gave us the opportunity to bring every citizen online.”

The local authority also gets the additional benefit of being able to collect data on its citizens.

Ermolaev explains the big data  is used to understand what tourists and citizens are interested in and popular places to travel to.

Giving Muscovites a say with Active Citizen app

There are over 300 public services available to Moscow citizens via mobile applications and is the method which 75% of the city’s inhabitants chose to access them.

But, Muscovites are not just passive participants – the app lets them have their say on public affairs too.

Ermolaev says: “Being a smart city is about the citizen’s driving the city – from the very beginning we gave an opportunity for the citizens to vote for any civil act that the government does.”

It’s city-wide e-voting application, called Active Citizen, has over 2.2 million users and to date, over 4,000 votes have been held.

Votes can be held on issues affecting the public and examples include, votes on stricter rules for the sale of alcoholic energy drinks, adjusting the speed limit in the city centre, or where to locate a kindergarten.

Ermolaev adds: “It’s the main instrument we use for e-democracy.

“One of the biggest challenges for this will come at the end of September when electronic voting will be used for the Moscow parliamentary elections.

“All votes will be recorded in the blockchain, which will give an opportunity to test the technology on large amount of users.”

Other uses of the app include using crowd-sourced knowledge to highlight issues for the local council to deal with.

“If you see that a broken bench or potholes in the road, you can take a photo and send it to the government via the app,” says Ermolaev.

“From there the government will have eight days to fix the issue and, if they don’t, the problem will be escalated up the ranks until it is resolved.

“It’s helped to build trust between citizens and the government.”

How education works in the Moscow smart city

School-life for truants and troublemakers has been made “a nightmare” for pupils in Moscow, according to Ermolaev.

The latest edtech innovation gives parents unprecedented insight into their child’s time at school.

“Every school child has to enter the school gate through the use of a plastic card,” he says.

“Once they enter, the parent or carer receives an instant push notification or SMS to their mobile to confirm that their child has entered the school.

“When the pupil is given a grade at school, whether it’s A, B or C, the parents are also notified of the results via a message.

“After that, the child goes to lunch and decides to buy two Snickers chocolate bars, even though their mother told them not too.

“Once again, the parents get a message to tell them how many calories their child ate.

“It means the parents can come back home knowing whether they should be in a good or bad mood when they greet their child.”

As part of the government’s efforts to digitise the current education system, all teachers and pupils in Moscow have personal laptops and tablets – where they can be sent tutorial sessions and access textbooks.

Although Ermolaev admits, “on the one hand it’s not good for the kid”, it does allow schools to understand the different elements of school life that have an impact on results.

He explains: “We can correlate the results of the kids with what they are reading, the homework they completed or how far they live from school.

“Investing in digitalisation allows us to make forecasts and use big data and analysis to create digital twins , not just to improve education, but also for healthcare and transport.”

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The Future of "Smart City"

Among the achievements of Moscow Mr. Artem Ermolaev mentioned the first place in the development of electronic services, which the capital city got for the first time in the history of the United Nations rating (of electronic government) among the largest cities in the world, surpassing London, New York and Paris. “This became possible due to the Muscovites themselves, because the Muscovite is the most demanding client in the world.” That is why, he noted, being at a sufficiently high level of development, cannot be stopped, and therefore, according to the instructions of the Mayor, Moscow launches the program "Smart City" - a strategy up till 2030, which should move Moscow further and make a new technological breakthrough possible.

The Moscow government has conducted a survey on the topic asking what Muscovites want from technology and from the city over the next 12 years. The results are: personalized medicine, robots doing all the homework, and "smart house" - a new one, with all sensors, "able to do everything ".

Also, together with a number of analytical agencies, an analysis was conducted of the expectations of futurists, both Russian and international, who determined that this is the ubiquitous use of artificial intelligence. This is not accidental - Moscow is already working with artificial intelligence: together with the Ministry of Health, a pilot project has been launched to analyze cancer, using digital vision and artificial intelligence to help save lives. Now the work is under way to translate the logic of the doctor's work into ‘digit’, the machines are being trained to completely duplicate the work of the human brain.

“Next, we considered the strategy and the main directions of development, of which there are only six:

· smart people, as regards human and social capital, that is information technologies in education, health care, culture;

· smart living, everything related to housing and communal services and construction;

· digital smart mobility, this is a combination of transport and information technology and tourism;

· smart economy, this is all about technology in the field of trade, procurement and everything that is connected with this;

· clever environment, security and ecology, and everything that concerns the digital state.

These are the six areas for developing a smart city in terms of technology use.

Together with all the participants of the discussion, the main principles of development were defined.

· The first, the basic - the resident is at the center of everything,

· the second - the resident participates in the definition of the principles of development in education, in public health, this is the project "Active citizen" - an electronic referendum - when a resident decides where to ‘move’ the city.

· The third principle is artificial intelligence

· The fourth, very important principle: the use of modern digital technologies as a basis for making a city of equal opportunities.

The only way to make the city comfortable for people with disabilities is the use of digital technologies in all directions, be it building, be it education, be it health.

A very important part is working together with business, the principle connected with the use of electronic document circulation instead of paper.

According to Ermolaev, the task for the near future is to get rid of a sufficiently large number of functions, from routine work and transfer it to artificial intelligence, so that the services work in 24/7 mode. Everything should happen automatically, the decision should be made by the machine, based only on the will of the citizen. Examples of successful use of artificial intelligence are the electronic distribution of notifications about epidemic outlooks in schools, predicting the likelihood of a fire or leakage in an apartment building, drawing up estimates for the construction of houses.

In each case, we are talking about comparing a large number of factors that a person can not compare. Therefore, artificial intelligence, together with big data, together with the Blockchain technology, gives a large enough advance in any industry. Blockchain is necessary for security, because if so many decisions are made at the level of single machine, then if someone hacks one machine, then there is a risk that it will change the algorithm of its operation. The problem is that this algorithm should be stored on thousands of servers, and it would be impossible to hack it.

Summing up, Mr. Artem Ermolaev once again listed the main end-to-end technologies: artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, wireless technologies 5g (which in 3 to 5 years will cover all of Moscow), the Internet of things, virtual reality. They are very important in the future technologies. "We hope that what we will create over the next 12 years will still make the Muscovites a little more happy, slightly more satisfied with what they have," he assured.

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On May 30, the World Trade Center in cooperation with Key Capital, and with the support of the Ministry of Construction and Housing of the Russian Federation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia and the Czech-Russian Business Council, held a panel discussion «Smart City. The city gains intelligence». The meeting was held within the framework of the International Business Forum of Property.

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