Zurich and Oslo top the list of the world's smartest cities

Smart cities in Europe and Asia are gaining ground globally, while North American cities have fallen within the rankings Smart City Index 2024 Published April.

Of the highest ten smart cities on the list, seven were in Europe.

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

The report evaluates 142 smart cities worldwide based on data analyzed by researchers in addition to survey responses from 120 residents in each city. The study provides an outline of how the infrastructure and technology available in a city affects town's performance and the standard of lifetime of its residents.

According to the IMDBy definition, a wise city is defined as “an urban environment that uses technology to increase the benefits and reduce the disadvantages of urbanization for its citizens.”

The cities that rating well on the list have also developed initiatives that address the general quality of lifetime of their residents.

“Such initiatives have focused, for example, on developing green spaces and expanding opportunities for cultural events and social contacts,” the report says.

“In most of these leading cities, such efforts have been combined with innovative strategies to attract and retain talent and selectively promote investment [e.g. pro-sustainability]and address long-standing issues related to geographic inequalities and inclusion,” the report said.

Here are the highest 10 smart cities based on the Smart City Index 2024.

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Oslo, Norway
3. Canberra, Australia
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Singapore
6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Lausanne, Switzerland
8. London, England
9. Helsinki, Finland
10. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Notably, there aren’t any North American cities in the highest 20 for the primary time because the index was launched in 2019.

“Using three-year rolling averages (i.e., comparing a city’s average ranking for 2021-24 to that for 2020-23), a significant number of U.S. cities have lost ground,” the report said.

“This is particularly true 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-ranked US city this yr is New York City at number 34, followed by Boston at number 36 and Washington DC at number 50.

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

Here are the highest 5 smart cities in Asia:

1. Singapore (fifth)
2. Beijing (thirteenth)
3. Taipei City (sixteenth)
4. Seoul (seventeenth)
5. Shanghai (19.)

Singapore has consistently been in the highest 10 because the index was launched in 2019. From 2020 to 2023, it ranked seventh – except in 2022, when no rating was published, moving up two places this yr.

Taipei City also moved up 13 places last yr, from twenty ninth in 2023 to sixteenth this yr.

“Cities must design and implement strategies that can withstand the tests of a future plagued by growing uncertainties,” said Bruno Lanvin, President of the Smart City Observatory.

“Health-related concerns remain significant, while climate-related concerns become even larger; a mix complicated by renewed international tensions. Trust and good governance are becoming increasingly important, and the importance of AI in city design and management is expected to increase,” he said within the report.

“As counterintuitive as it may sound, Al can help cities become more people-centered,” Lanvin added.