London, New York and San Francisco are the "smartest" and most forward-looking cities in the world today, according to a study published by parking startup EasyPark. When it comes to smaller cities, Scandinavian countries appear to be at the forefront of modernity and sustainable development.
The research aims to highlight the cities that make the best use of new technological solutions to improve their sustainability and quality of life.
When it comes to digital life, San Francisco unsurprisingly tops the list of cities with the highest technology adoption and most advanced healthcare innovation. Beijing, on the other hand, is positioned as a benchmark for its tech education facilities.
In terms of mobility, Hong Kong stands out for its clean transportation, while London is particularly innovative in terms of parking, and Minneapolis is ahead of the game on traffic management. On the infrastructure side, Hong Kong also has the best internet coverage, while Rotterdam has the most widespread use of electronic payments.
Finally, as far as sustainable development is concerned, Rio de Janeiro appears to be the city that puts the most emphasis on so-called green energies, while New York leads the way on sustainable buildings and Taipei on waste management.
Top 10 most intelligent and future-proof cities with populations over 3 million people
1. London (UK)
2. New York (USA)
3. San Francisco (USA)
4. Singapore (Singapore)
5. Berlin (Germany)
6. Rotterdam (Netherlands)
7. Seattle (USA)
8. Seoul (South Korea)
9. Washington (USA)
10. Manchester (UK)
Top 10 most intelligent and future-proof cities with populations between 600,000 and 3 million people
1. Copenhagen (Denmark)
2. Stockholm (Sweden)
3. Oslo (Norway)
4. Amsterdam (Netherlands)
5. Zurich (Switzerland)
6. Gothenburg (Sweden)
7. Helsinki (Finland)
8. Boston (USA)
9. Utrecht (Netherlands)
10. Edinburgh (UK)
Top 10 most intelligent and future-proof cities with populations between 50,000 and 600,000 people
1. Lund (Sweden)
2. Stavanger (Norway)
3. Espoo (Finland)
4. Malmö (Sweden)
5. Aalborg (Denmark)
6. Aarhus (Denmark)
7. Trondheim (Norway)
8. Bergen (Norway)
9. Porvoo (Finland)
10. Cambridge (UK)
This research established the factors that determine the degree of technological advancement and sustainability of a city and scored the cities accordingly. To do this, the study used data from sources such as the World Bank, The Economist, the International Monetary Fund and The Lancet. Four key areas were considered: digital life, mobility innovation, business technology infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
