London tops smarts cities index with Bristol in second place
London has come out top of the rankings for factors which make a smart city, according to new research.
London scored 80.5 for its use of digital technology to improve services, helping it top Huawei's smart cities index. The capital was praised for urban innovations such as the congestion charge and its strong commitment to open data with the London Datastore.
Bristol took second place with 80.2 thanks to its Bristol is Open project which is creating a laboratory for urban innovation, as well as its efforts in energy programmes and community engagement.
“London and Bristol stand out from the crowd for combining technical innovation with a broader strategy for city development. But there are a number of cities close behind them with strong smart city programmes," Eric Woods, research director at Navigant Consulting, said.
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"The message from our research is that more city leaders need to embed the idea of smart capabilities into their urban projects. Cities and central government also need to work together to ensure successful pilot projects are turned into scalable projects that benefit fall citizens."
Four other cities — Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Milton Keynes — were awarded "contender" status.