The 2022 Smart City Index analysed 31 global cities to examine the urban changes taking place against the backdrop of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
The Smart City Index 2022 reveals that 26 per cent of smart cities have innovation specific districts
New York, Amsterdam, Vienna and Singapore have been recognised as leaders in the area of smart city governance by the third edition of the Smart City Index.
The 2022 index analysed 31 cities to examine the changes taking place in cities against the backdrop of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and to help guide their future smart city direction.
Smart city innovation
The index was put together by a research team from IfM Engage (the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge) and the Digital Transformation Research Centre and Information Systems Intelligence Lab at Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea.
The research was led by Junghoon Lee, project manager, Global Smart City Index Development, and director of the Information Systems Intelligence Lab and the Centre for DT Technology Management (pictured). He explained that among the areas analysed were: civic app- and web-based services; smart city infrastructure services such as the intelligent transportation system (ITS), intelligent streetlights, and smart grids; and living labs in various formats.
Key findings include:
- 26 per cent of smart cities have innovation specific districts
- 61 per cent of smart cities are maintaining or advancing their living labs
- 48 per cent of smart cities have an advanced open data portal
- 42 per cent of smart cities have initiatives on digital inclusion or smart health welfare
- 39 per cent of smart cities have advanced public free wifi areas.
The report contains analysis of the eight assessment areas of service innovation, urban Intelligence, urban sustainability, urban openness, infrastructure integration, urban innovations, collaborative partnership and smart city governance. This edition of the index also provides city rankings according to each assessment area.
Comparing the 2022 smart city governance results with those from 2019, Amsterdam, New York and Singapore retained their positions as top-tier leaders in while Vienna improved its position. The 2022 index also revealed that New York, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Singapore demonstrated a comprehensive smart city strategy as well as detailed action plans. Dubai and Vienna were ahead of other cities in demonstrating strong smart city leadership, for example, in the degree of coordination and level of control shown over the whole smart city plan.
The review found that cities such as Amsterdam and Barcelona have established dedicated organisations to coordinate and manage smart city developments, “exercising a well-grounded, centralised role”.
The urban intelligence section explored how the 31 cities are applying 4IR technologies like the internet of things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual, augmented and extended reality (VR, AR and XR) digital twins, metaverse and blockchain. It revealed that Seoul, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Helsinki lead the way in using these tools, followed by Lisbon, Dublin, Busan, and New York. The rankings show little significant change from 2019.
Seoul’s urban AI platform S-Brain is highlighted for supporting a range of city hall departments in seeking to predict future policy issues and putting data-driven policy at the centre of smarter public provision. In addition, it reports Seoul provided a citizen participation platform using the metaverse and chatbots to improve communication during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The index also acknowledges a shift towards the emergence of more innovation in the area of energy and the environment, reflecting cities’ focus on sustainability and climate action. It found that of the 31 cities surveyed, 18 (58 per cent) have made the theme of energy or the environment a strategic pillar of their smart city planning. The top five performing cities in urban sustainability are Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Berlin and London.
The report said Amsterdam’s conception of itself as a Circular Economy City, noted in the 2019 index, has progressed to take the form of a roadmap for recycling most of the city’s products and materials. It is also taking steps is to redesign the value chain to become a carbon-neutral city.
Meanwhile, Copenhagen is seeking to become carbon-neutral by 2025, and the index reports it generated 47 per cent of its electricity by wind power as early as 2019. In addition, 98 per cent of district heating comes from self-sustaining combined heat and power plants.
For the full index and rankings, go to www.smartcitiesindex.org.
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Quelle/Source: Smart ities orld, 01.02.2023
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