Thanks to advanced transportation services, environmental control and widespread adoption of modern technologies, the world's smartest cities are rapidly changing the way we think about urban life. And the annual Cities in Motion 2020 Index, prepared by the University of Navarra Business School in Spain (IESE Business School), analyzes which cities in the world are the smartest.
174 cities of the world participated in the current rating, and we present you with the top ten winners.
10. Hong Kong
IESE experts noted that this autonomous metropolis in China has a very high innovation index, almost 100% of its population has mobile phones, and the number of wireless access points is the largest in the world.
Hong Kong also stands out for the number of social media users and the number of mobile phones per capita. The index also notes that as part of the development of the "smart city", Hong Kong is introducing a new electronic identifier (e-ID) system. Such an electronic ID will make it easier for Hong Kongers to access various online services, and will provide better protection for their personal data, since they will be protected by the government, and not by individual organizations.
The implementation of this concept will put Hong Kong on a par with countries such as Denmark, Germany and Israel, whose citizens use electronic identification to pay taxes, open bank accounts and even vote for leaders of the state.
The worst result was shown by Hong Kong in the social cohesion category, ranking 111th.
9.Singapore
Recognized for its efforts in technology, governance, international reach and environment, Singapore has been voted 9th Best Smart City in the World by IESE.
As part of its urban smart program, the city has implemented a transport system called One Monitoring. With its help, citizens can access traffic information received from surveillance cameras installed on roads and vehicles with GPS monitoring.
In addition, Singapore has also implemented a parking search system that provides drivers with real-time information on parking availability. In 2015, the city also introduced "smart dumpsters" capable of tamping trash and notifying the relevant authorities when there is no more space in the trash.
There are problems with mobility and transport in the city (55th line in the corresponding category)
8. Amsterdam
According to the Cities in Motion Index, Amsterdam is among the top 5 smartest cities in Western Europe. In particular, the Dutch capital was highly rated as 3rd best city for technology, 6th best city for international cooperation and 13th best city for urban planning.
The Smart City project in Amsterdam has already shown its promise. Within its framework, the city is working on a number of projects aimed at reducing harmful emissions, saving energy and using technological advances to optimally transform the urban environment.
For example, the Amsterdam authorities, in collaboration with local businesses and corporations, have tested the most sustainable solutions (energy-efficient lighting, waste reduction, etc.) on Utrechtsestraat, the city's main shopping street. As a result, energy consumption at Utrechtsestraat has been reduced by 10%.
The “sore spot” of Amsterdam is the social cohesion of its residents (50th position).
7. Berlin
The strengths of the German capital are mobility and transport (4th place), human capital (5th line) and international relations (9th position).
But the areas on which the Berlin authorities still need to work are the economy (59th place) and the environment (42nd place).
6. Copenhagen
The Danish capital is particularly good for the environment, ranking second for this indicator due to its low pollution.
The experts also noted the good quality of city management. But according to such criteria as urban planning, Copenhagen took 81st place.
5. Reykjavik
The fifth smartest city in 2020 was Reykjavik. The capital of Iceland has been particularly praised for its green smart city initiatives.
For example, Reykjavik recently launched the Straetó app, the Icelandic bus company. In it you can pay for a trip around the city, view information about stops and get data about your trip in real time. The app has been downloaded 85,000 times and encourages citizens to use buses more often.
The city has also tried to involve the public in their plans through Better Reykjavik, an online consultation forum where citizens can submit their ideas about the city's services and operations.
Unlike most cities in the top ten, the worst indicators for Reykjavik are urban planning (125th place) and economy (86th line).
4. Tokyo
It is the smartest city in the Asia-Pacific region. Being one of the most popular tourist metropolises in the world with a high level of labor productivity, the Japanese capital stands out in the ranking for the quality of its economy and human capital.
Tokyo, which will host the Olympic Games in 2021 (originally in 2020, but postponed to next year due to the coronavirus), will introduce state-of-the-art security measures, including facial recognition technology, and the use of unmanned taxis to transport athletes and tourists from place to place.
Tokyo's Achilles' heel is the low social cohesion of its citizens (74th line).
3. Paris
The third place in the ranking is occupied by the French capital. The IESE Business School report highlighted the city's efforts in international cooperation as well as mobility and transportation.
Paris is currently in the process of developing the Grand Paris Express, which will include 127 miles of fully automated metro lines and 68 new stations. By 2050, the city will also replace its entire fleet of 4,500 RATP buses (the main operator of public transport in the Paris region) with electric or natural gas vehicles.
The weak points of Paris are social cohesion (74th) and the quality of the environment (48th in the ranking).
2. New York
Last year's 2020 Cities in Motion winner became the second most developed smart city in the world.
New York City has a population of 8.5 million and consumes 4.5 billion liters of water every day. As part of the smart city plan, the city's environmental department deployed a large-scale automatic meter reading system to better monitor water consumption. At the same time, the townspeople have access to it, which gives them an idea of the daily water consumption.
The city also uses Bigbelly's solar-powered smart trash cans, which monitor trash levels and have a press.
But in terms of social cohesion of the population "Big Apple" is one of the worst cities in the world (151st place).
1. London
The Best Smart City in the World is the capital and most populous city in the United Kingdom, and the nerve center of Europe in areas such as arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, media, research, tourism and transportation.
The IESE report highlighted London as the best city when it comes to human capital and international connectivity (airport passenger traffic, number of hotels and restaurants), and one of the best metropolitan areas in terms of transport, economy, governance, technology and urban planning. ...
Its weaknesses are social cohesion (64th) and the environment (35th).
The smartest city in Russia according to IESE Business School
Moscow entered the top ten smartest megacities in the world by two indicators:
- The level of human capital development is 8th in the ranking. The Russian capital managed to bypass such competitors as Tokyo and Chicago. This category takes into account such indicators as the proportion of urban residents with secondary and higher education, the number of museums, universities, art galleries, business schools included in the Financial Times rating, etc.
- Urban planning. In just a year, Moscow managed to move up from 22nd to 6th place in this category. The IESE experts took into account the number of city bike rentals, the number of skyscrapers and the average number of residents per household.
Moscow also showed growth in other categories such as environmental quality, social cohesion and international connections.
In the aggregate of all indicators, the capital of Russia took 87th place in the ranking.