Bergur Thormundsson
Research expert covering technology in the Nordics, AI and smart cities
Smart Cities - statistics & facts
Cities, much like technology and people, are becoming ever smarter. Smart cities, also commonly known as digital cities, intelligent cities, and wired cities, are urban areas that collect electronic data from citizens, devices, and assets to manage available resources more efficiently. A wide range of information and communications technology (ICT) applications are used to enhance knowledge and innovation, reduce costs and resource use, promote living and working environments, and increase communication between government and citizens.
The concept of smart cities
There are dozens of ways to define a smart city based on the types of technology implemented and its goals. The developments of ubiquitous cities (U-Cities) in South Korea are one example. U-Cities aim to connect citizens to any service through a smart device. Knowledge cities focus on the innovation of the knowledge economy and subsequently aim to increase their skilled workforce. A digital city is defined as a city that allows for increased interconnection and information sharing. Despite a wide range of purposes behind smart cities, they generally promote the efficient use of physical infrastructure.Asia dominates in connection numbers
While the United States and Europe both contain significant levels of connectivity, it is Asia, with its multiple billion citizens, that contains the most connected devices within cities. Despite this numerical superiority in connection numbers, it is European cities that are the smartest in 2024. Containing eight of the top 20 smart cities measured by a variety of metrics, its top performers being the giants of London and Paris, with humble Reykjavik coming in third among the European rankings.Smart cities becoming just cities
As the world embraces more digital services and interconnectivity it is becoming clear that the once unique concept of a smart city is the baseline template for future development in cities globally. With this will come an increased demand for data centers, telecommunication networks, and smart infrastructure. Governments and private sector agents would do well to look to the demands of smart cities to predict where the market will grow in the coming decades.
