Study by EasyPark Group reveals top smart cities

The study uses data to reveal the smartest cities in the world, with a focus on how they are adopting new technologies to create a more sustainable and liveable present and future for their citizens. EasyPark Group, the global parking tech company, has released a study about the most intelligent and future-proof cities in the world, that reveals which cities are best adopting new technological solutions to improve their sustainability and liveability.

As mobility innovators, EasyPark focuses on the impact that new technologies can have on societies and how they can help to create sustainable and forward thinking urban areas that enhance the lives of their inhabitants. The company therefore sets out to determine which global smart cities are leading the way in embracing technological advancements and proving themselves to be cities of the future.

The study began by assessing several thousand cities around the world and looked at those smart cities that are implementing the use of technologies. Understanding that cities face different challenges depending on their population, the study was split into three size categories: metropolitan areas with over 3 million inhabitants, between 600,000 and 3 million inhabitants, and between 50,000 and 600,000 inhabitants. The result of the study reveals the top 50 highest ranking smart and future-proof cities worldwide in each category.  

The researchers turned their attention to establishing the factors that determine how technologically advanced and sustainable a city is, and scored the locations accordingly. To do this, they retrieved data from sources such as the World Bank, the Economist, the International Monetary Fund, and the Lancet.

To evaluate how innovative each location is, the researchers considered four key areas. Firstly, the Digital Life of each city was studied by assessing how widely technology has been adopted by the population, the government and within the healthcare sector. They also reviewed the success and reputation of technology educational institutions in each urban area.

Next, the researchers focused on Mobility Innovation. To do this, they looked at how innovative parking solutions are within each city, the overall traffic management system including public transport, and how clean transport in the city is.

Following this, the study considered each city’s Business Tech Infrastructure. To do this, the level of business innovation, prevalence of ePayments and quality of internet connectivity in each location was measured.

Finall, the Environmental Sustainability of each city was evaluated by analysing green energy usage, the number of green buildings, the waste management system and the overall climate change response and planning. 

To view the results and full methodology of the study, visit EasyPark Group's report page.