This yr’s index was created by the IMD Global Competitiveness Center’s Smart Cities Observatory in collaboration with the World Smart and Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), primarily based in Seoul, South Korea.
The report ranks 142 sensible cities world wide primarily based on knowledge analyzed by researchers and survey responses from 120 residents of every metropolis. This examine captures an summary of how the infrastructure and expertise obtainable in a metropolis impacts its efficiency and the standard of lifetime of its residents.
According to IMD, a wise metropolis is outlined as “an city surroundings that applies expertise to boost the advantages and scale back the disadvantages of urbanization for its residents.”
Cities that carry out effectively on the checklist are additionally creating initiatives that handle the general high quality of lifetime of their residents.
“These efforts deal with creating inexperienced areas and increasing alternatives for cultural occasions and social bonding,” the report mentioned.
“In most of those main cities, these efforts are mixed with revolutionary methods to draw and retain expertise and drive funding in a selective manner. [e.g. pro-sustainability]and handle long-standing problems with geographic inequality and inclusion,” the report mentioned.
According to the 2024 Smart City Index, the highest 10 sensible cities are:
Zurich (Switzerland) Oslo (Norway) Canberra (Australia) Geneva (Switzerland) Singapore Copenhagen (Denmark) Lausanne (Switzerland) London (England) Helsinki (Finland) Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
It is noteworthy that for the primary time because the index was created in 2019, no North American metropolis is included within the high 20.
According to the report, “Using a three-year shifting common (i.e., evaluating the typical rating of cities from 2021-24 to the typical rating of cities from 2020-23), a big variety of U.S. cities “We’re shedding rankings.”
“This is very true for Washington DC, Denver, and Los Angeles (-12, -12, and -11, respectively), but additionally San Francisco (-9), New York City (-7), and Chicago (-4).”
The highest rating U.S. metropolis this yr was New York City at thirty fourth, adopted by Boston at thirty sixth and Washington DC at fiftieth.
While European cities dominate the checklist, Asian cities are additionally rising.
The high 5 sensible cities in Asia are:
Singapore (fifth) Beijing (thirteenth) Taipei (sixteenth) Seoul (seventeenth) Shanghai (nineteenth)
Singapore has constantly ranked within the high 10 because the index’s inception in 2019. It was ranked seventh from 2020 to 2023, apart from 2022, when rankings weren’t introduced, and rose two locations this yr.
Taipei City additionally rose 13 locations in comparison with final yr, shifting from twenty ninth place in 2023 to sixteenth place this yr.
Bruno Lanvin, director of the Smart Cities Observatory, mentioned: “Cities must design and undertake methods that may stand up to the challenges of a future suffering from growing uncertainty.”
“While health-related issues stay excessive, climate-related issues are even higher, and new worldwide tensions complicate the combination. Trust and good governance are more and more vital. ”, and the significance of Al in city design and administration will proceed to develop, he mentioned within the report.
“Although it might sound counterintuitive, Al may also help cities grow to be extra human-centric,” Lamban added.
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