10 Smart Cities to Watch

With an ever growing and changing landscape of smart cities around the world, it is tough to select but a few. Nevertheless, these 10 smart cities are remarkable in their own way.

1.    Singapore

Singapore has been on the frontline of smart city planning since the 1960s. Its strategy iN2015 has to turn the city state into an Intelligent Nation, with among others a city-wide network of sensors to collect real-time information.

2.    Tokyo

With the presence of the greatest tech companies of the world, various corporate collaborations have taken the world’s most populated city to the next level. The smart features of the rail system enhance the travel experience of 14 billion passengers a year.

3.    Barcelona

Barcelona’s smart parking system enables the city to generate €36.5 million a year. Besides, the city stimulates clean transportation with bike sharing programmes, superblocks – where the pedestrian-first policy applies – and EVs. 

4.    Stockholm

Stockholm has been declared the Intelligent Community of the Year in 2009, and the European Green Capital in 2010, which is reflected in its smart and green parking system. Its parking meters are paperless and fully digital.

5.    London 

London’s innovative and connected smart city policy results in a network of buses, trains, and even shared vehicles, that can be used through an overall smart payment system, while smart parking services and underground WiFi enhance the overall mobility experience. 

6.    Paris

Paris is not only a tourist hotspot, it also ranks high among smart cities. Public transit includes the bike sharing programme Velib and a similar EV-programme is on its way. Mass transit runs on clean fuel, in addition to the extensive metro system and high-speed trains. 

7.    Tel Aviv 

Mobility is one of the core themes of Tel Aviv’s Smart City Programme. Citizens aged over 13 year can register with the Digi-Tel Club, which allows them to receive personalised data such as traffic information based on their usual journeys. 

8.    San Francisco

With Silicon Valley in its backyard, San Francisco takes mobility to a different stage. Besides a variety of commuting systems – from go-cars to wheels -, the city offers smart parking, vehicle sharing, and a wide network of public charging stations. 

9.    New York City

New York City has been declared the world’s smartest city for two consecutive years, thanks to its partnerships with smart tech companies such as Cisco, City24/7 and IBM. Moreover, the city wants to mitigate the digital divide by creating internet access for all its residents

10.    Medellin

Medellin has the ambition to become the most innovative city of Latin America by 2021. Cable cars connect the poorest neighbourhoods with the inner city, the use of the metro is stimulated by the creation of a dedicated culture, and various programmes boost innovation, technology and science.