World’s top 6 smart cities!

Smart cities worldwide have made significant progress in their initiatives, embracing innovative technologies to enhance sustainability, and reduce carbon emissions.

With the United Nations projecting that 70% of the global population will be in urban areas by 2050, the need for smarter urban infrastructure is clear.

Implementing smart technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), has not only improved citizens’ quality of life, but also improved public safety.

Here’s a look at six leading smart cities around the globe:

Singapore leads the pack in smart city initiatives, with its Smart Nation program launched in 2014. The city-state has embraced contactless payment technology for efficient public transportation and introduced digital health systems to address healthcare needs, including video consultations and wearable IoT devices for patient monitoring. Plans for a new eco-smart city in Tengah underscore Singapore’s commitment to sustainability.

Helsinki aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and has made significant strides towards this goal, with emissions reduced by 27% since 1990. The city is focused on transitioning to electric vehicles, expanding public transportation networks, and implementing energy-efficient measures in buildings to reduce emissions.

Zurich’s smart city journey began with a streetlight project utilising sensors to adjust brightness based on traffic levels, resulting in energy savings of up to 70%. The city has expanded its use of smart streetlights and implemented sensory technologies to collect environmental data and enhance public services. A smart building management system further improves energy efficiency.

Oslo is committed to electrifying its entire vehicle fleet by 2025, with incentives such as free parking and the use of bus lanes for zero-emission cars. The city’s efforts also include zero-emission construction sites, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency, and developing circular waste management systems to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Seoul, home to the world’s first smart city, Songdo, has continued to innovate since launching its smart initiatives in 2014. Utilising data analytics from sensors and CCTV, the city enhances urban infrastructure and services, including safety measures for the elderly and crime detection using AI. Seoul is also at the forefront of 5G technology implementation in mobility and transportation.

Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most famous cities for many reasons, such as its universities, tourist attractions, and its vast number of cyclists. However, Amsterdam also made the top ten ranking as a smart city for reasons like, the fact that the city is an open data source. This means that everyone has access to information and data set collections. The Amsterdam Smart City Initiative (ASC) – uses statistics from insurance companies to find out areas with high levels of people with depression that did not have access to the necessary care-taking resources.