IESE Business School is back with its smart city rankings – but with some interesting elements added on. This time it is IESE’s fifth edition of Cities in Motion Index published in a row that analyses the level of development of 165 cities from 80 countries. The analysis is based on nine dimensions that are taken to be the most important factors for the existence of a smart and sustainable city. These are economy, social cohesion, human capital, environment, governance, urban planning, technology, international outreach, and mobility and transportation. The index is framed by Center of IESE Business School for Globalisation and Strategy under the direction of Joan Enric Ricart and Professors Pascual Berrone.
This initiative led by IESE Department of Strategy aims at encouraging cities to make favourable changes at the local level and to develop valuable ideas and innovative tools that can shape smarter and more sustainable cities. The Cities in Motion Index 2018 provides an urban model to 21st-century city planners, experts, private corporations, and governments. It connects them together while also takes into account four main factors that include sustainable ecosystem, equality among citizens, innovative activities and connected territory.
Have a look at the smartest cities around the world in 2017 and compare the results with this year’s smart city results for a better insight. You will come to know that some cities have maintained their position, some have dropped down while some have risen to higher rankings.
Top 3 Smart Cities Of 2018 – Position Well-maintained
-
New York
IESE Cities in Motion Index has declared New York to be the smartest city of the world for the third year in a row read the earlier report here. New York has scored high almost in all the dimensions used in the index. However, it has maintained its ranking as it has secured first position in the economy (being the world’s most important economic center) and urban planning. For international outreach, it has secured the third position and for human capital and mobility and transportation fourth position. Yet in terms of environment and social cohesion, it secures position 99 and 109 respectively.
It is worth mentioning that New York has a well-developed infrastructure reflecting a huge number of buildings and skyscrapers. Also, nearly 100% of the population in the city is able to have sufficient sanitation facilities. Plus, the number of people residing per household is considerably low.
-
London
Even London has maintained its position at the second place for the second year in a row. Thanks to its overall high performance in nearly all the dimensions. But in terms of human capital, the city secures the first position. For international outreach and mobility and transportation, it secures the second position, and for the economy fourth position. In terms of environment and social cohesion, it secured position 40 and position 68 respectively.
It is notable that London is well-known for its top-level business schools and the highest number of universities. Additionally, the city reflects a diverse yet vivacious culture where theatres, museum, and art galleries have a phenomenal existence. And not to forget that a high percentage of the population in the city has secondary and higher education.
-
Paris
Paris is another city that has maintained its ranking since the last year. Even today the city holds the reputation of being the most attractive tourist destination of the world receiving more than 42 million tourists every year. And so, Paris gets the first position for international outreach. Also, the city is best known for its metro system, high-speed train, number of air routes arriving and the development of its bike-sharing system which places the city at the first position for mobility and transportation. For urban planning, it secures the third position, for economy seventh position and human capital eighth position.
Comparing the top 3 cities in the ranking, all three cities are struggling with the challenges of social cohesion. Though they have jumped up a few positions, they are still at the bottom of the rankings for this dimension. This proves the fact that cities that have a high economic level are simultaneously more inequitable which could lead to problems between different classes in the society. Citing the fact, authors of the report note that being prosperous, equitable and inclusive at the same time is one of the biggest challenges for cities to shape themselves into urban centers.
Bringing a balance in all the dimensions where success measured is a complex process that calls for an overall vision. Also, combining certain dimensions is rather difficult like economy with social cohesion. Getting high rankings in just one area is not enough as in the case of Bangkok, Kiev, Montevideo, and Doha which are all positioned at the bottom half of the rankings – being “unbalanced” cities. A few cities like Amsterdam, Seoul, and Melbourne have performed moderately well in all dimensions.
Next Smart Cities In The Top 10 List
-
Tokyo
Tokyo, the most populous urban agglomeration in the world shows the highest rate of labour productivity. Leading the rankings in the Asian region, it secures the second position for the economy and fifth position for human capital. For dimensions including environment, international outreach, technology and mobility and transportation, it is placed in the top 30.
-
Reykjavik
Reykjavik in Iceland is a newcomer in the top 10 list. For the environment, it secures the first position. The city has received the highest position in Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and reflects low levels of PM10 and PM2.5 pollution. For mobility and transportation and technology, it is placed at seventh position. However, for international outreach, it occupied position 121.
-
Singapore
The smart city of Singapore is well-known for its technological achievements and so the city secures the second position for the dimension. For international outreach, it secures the fifth position, for governance eighth position, and for environment tenth position.
-
Seoul
Seoul, the capital of South Korea has maintained its position since 2017. The city gets the third position for mobility and transportation and tenth position for technology. However, in terms of other dimensions, it is not included in the top ten rankings.
-
Toronto
Toronto, the Canadian city is another new entry in the top 10 list. It secures the second position in urban planning due to its recent smart city advancements. For governance, it secures the fourth position.
-
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the most influential cities in Southeast Asia. It bags the first position in the technology dimension. Nearly 100% of the population in the city owns mobile phones while it has a high number of wireless access points globally. In addition, it has a high number of social media users and mobile phones per capita. For human capital, governance, and urban planning it has performed well in the rankings.
-
Amsterdam
The capital of Netherlands, Amsterdam is the largest city of the nation and one of the most significant financial and cultural center with an international impact. The city has performed well in all the dimensions particularly in technology, urban planning and international outreach where it has secured rankings in the top 20.
What’s So Different In 2018 Rankings?
This year’s smart city edition covers a number of variables at the local level compared to previous years. The edition covers a total of 83 indicators demonstrating objective as well as subjective data that provides a comprehensive view of every smart city. The analysis has been enriched with new data that includes the number of terrorist attacks, the compliance levels of ISO 37120 (smart city standard), number of Apple stores in a city and prospective variables like GDP per capita projections and increasing temperatures due to climate change.
The next big difference compared to the previous editions is that 13 new cities have entered the smart city rankings. Some of these include Reykjavik (Iceland), Wellington (New Zealand), Bern (Switzerland) and San Diego (USA).
Thanks to the new edition published by IESE, the cities around the world have received new data to use as a benchmark to become better smart cities in the coming years. Well, we hope that smart cities will be able to use the data to implement new changes more comprehensively giving an overall good quality of life to their citizens – giving an interesting turn to the next smartest cities list coming up in 2019.
