Beyond
smart cities—tofuture-ready cities
The city of the future will need to be not just ‘smart’
but also resilient in the face of unpredictable events.
Here are six ways cities can fulfill their future-ready vision,according to our recent research.

1

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Table of contents
Executive summary

03

01

Develop three-part ecosystems to supportand execute on the vision

05

02

Design ecosystems with the right dynamics

08

03

Create individual solutions with a shared 		foundation in mind

1004

Embolden tech choices, supported 			by ecosystem partners

1205

Share data by default

15

06

Take security and privacy concerns to heart

19

Embracing the future-ready city vision

21

About the authors

23

Methodology

24

2

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Executive summary
Examples abound of cities
around the world doing
something clever withtechnology—installing thousandsof sensors, hundreds of solar
panels or dozens of rooftop
farms—and putting a “smartcity” label on it. While some ofthese initiatives have achieved a
degree of success, most haven’t
lived up to the hype.
With the alarming acceleration in catastrophic
weather events, natural disasters and global
health emergencies, there’s no question cities
need what some might call “more smarts.”
From their sheer density to their often aging
infrastructures, cities’ vulnerabilities areplentiful and must be addressed.
The increasingly widespread availability of 5G
has made the concept of a smart city more ofa reality than ever before. But while cities arecalled to deliver what smart city visionaries
have long promised—economic opportunity,
high-quality education and healthcare, clean
air, safe streets, a rich cultural life and an
efficient transportation system—they must do
so while considering not just today’s challenges
and opportunities but also those of tomorrow.
Beyond being smart, then, cities need to
be future-ready. Becoming a future-ready3

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

city requires building the foundation to beresilient in the face of both predictable andunpredictable challenges and adapting tofast-changing social and economic situations.
5G will play a big role in achieving a futureready vision. This technology’s ultra-low latency,
blazing speeds, extra-large bandwidth andfail-proof reliability promise to breathe newlife into the technology capabilities cities now
rely on and deliver enormous improvements inquality of life.
But while making the best use of technology
is essential, it’s not enough. In recent researchco-sponsored by Cognizant, we found the cityof the future will need more than 5G and awide range of other technologies. It will require
strong ecosystems of local governments,
infrastructure providers (telcos) and integrators(tech partners).
The study also found, however, that today,
well-functioning ecosystems are few andfar between. Also lacking are sophisticatedcapabilities to not just create high-quality data
but also to manage, share, protect and makethat data actionable. Survey respondents are
feeling the brunt of these shortcomings.
The study, conducted by ThoughtLab,
surveyed 200 city officials from around theworld. It also included a series of interviews
with policymakers, business executives andother experts, to understand where cities standin terms of their future-preparedness, whatchallenges they are encountering and what
solutions they are exploring. For more study
details, see our methodology, page 22.

Six key imperatives derived
from the study include:

04

01
Develop three-part ecosystems to supportand execute on the vision. Cities need tocollaborate with infrastructure providers andtech integrators to pull together the ideas,
capabilities, technologies and funding torealize their future-ready vision. However,fewer than half of survey respondents (46%)
believe their cities have made strong progressin developing these partnerships. Respondents
are feeling the pain in the form of skills andexpertise shortages.

02
Design ecosystems with the right dynamics.
The challenge is to not just form theseecosystems but to also design them to foster
mutually beneficial relationships and allow for
ample experimentation.

03
Create individual solutions with a sharedfoundation in mind. It may be tempting toroll out an integrated solution of services
and products that supports a wide rangeof city sectors. But while a holistic vision isneeded, a more successful approach is tofocus on individual initiatives that leverage thefoundation of previous solutions.

4

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Embolden tech choices, supported byecosystem partners. Study respondents
name a wide array of technologies they
believe will be key to realizing their future-readygoals, from artificial intelligence (AI) to mobile
technologies. 5G will only further the valueof these technologies by enabling real-timeconnectivity and lightning-fast processing ofhigh volumes of data without delay. Buoyedby this, and with the support of a strong
ecosystem, cities can embrace emerging,high-impact technologies, like digital twins,that can serve as a foundation for future-readyendeavors.

05
Share data by default. High-quality data isa requirement for successful collaborative
ecosystems. But this data needs to be madeavailable to multiple stakeholders—siloed data
will result in missed opportunities to improve
public services, economic development and,ultimately, citizens’ lives. However, respondents
voice widespread frustration about their ability
to use data to reach their future-ready goals.

06
Take security and privacy concerns toheart. Concern about cybersecurity andthe potential for citizen surveillance isincreasingly widespread. Ecosystem partners
must acknowledge and respond to theseconcerns. While nearly three-quarters of survey
respondents plan to increase their focus ondata security in the next few years, just onethird said privacy concerns are slowing theirefforts to collect and use citizen data.
Our report explores the key challenges local
authorities and businesses face to prepare
cities for the future, and how these can beovercome with an ecosystem-driven strategy.

Develop threepart ecosystems to
support and executeon the vision

5

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

No city can become futureready on its own; instead,future readiness requires
thriving collaborative
ecosystems between the
public and private sectors.
“Ecosystems of partnerships will be
crucial in driving progress, pooling
resources and knowledge, sharing or
copying best practices, and educatingand helping scale technology,” says
Jeremy Kelly, City Futures Global Research
Director at Jones Lang LaSalle, a global
provider of real estate and investment
management services.1
Partnerships are essential to not only
give cities the necessary talent andtechnology capabilities needed toachieve their future-ready goals, butalso to address the funding gap that has
undermined previous initiatives.

1

6”Future-Ready Cities: A Roadmap for Urban Leaders,” ThoughtLab, Sept. 12, 2022.
https://thoughtlabgroup.com/roadmap-for-urban-leaders/.

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

The three-part future-ready ecosystem
Collaborative ecosystems should consist of three key groups: local governments,
telecommunication companies and technology partners.

Enablers
Local governments: create policies and makeinvestments to attract and incentivize businesses

Infrastructure
Telecommunication: companies act as
the essential infrastructure providers

Integrators
Technology partners: build tech-based solutions
that utilize and optimize new infrastructureIn many cities today, however, theseecosystems are underdeveloped. In ourstudy, less than half of respondents (46%)
said they’ve made good or very good
progress in developing an ecosystem ofenablers, infrastructure providers andintegrators (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Underdeveloped collaboration ecosystems
Q: How would you rate the progress your city has made in 			developing an ecosystem of collaboration for future readiness?

In fact, a key challenge for 65% of
respondents was finding the righttechnology suppliers, partners or
consultants to achieve their futureready plans. Half cited a shortage of therequired skills and expertise, and 44%
pointed to an insufficient understandingof technology among decision-makers.

37%

Good progress

9%

Very good progress

46%

8%

Moderate progress

1%

Little progress

No progress

Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding
Source: Cognizant/ThoughtLab
Base: 200 city officials

7

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Designecosystems
with the rightdynamics

8

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

To develop a thriving ecosystem,
municipal leaders need to ensure
these partnerships emphasize
two key characteristics:
01
Mutually beneficial relationships. 		
All three parties need to realize a share of thebenefits from the collaborative effort. This canbe difficult when incentives are not naturallyaligned or there are disputes over issues suchas data monetization.
To create alignment, ecosystem partners
should define a wide array of possible benefits.
These must include more than immediate
financial returns and improved public
services and should emphasize outcomes likeheightened economic activity, and a greater
ability to attract talent and investment.
Take the case of Peachtree Corners, a suburbof Atlanta with a population of some 45,000.
The city grew around the technology park
created in the late 1960s to attract high-techbusiness and employ the skills of graduatesof nearby universities such as the Georgia
Institute of Technology.2
With its partners Cisco, T-Mobile, Georgia
Power and Bosch, Peachtree Corners has built
on this major advantage to create Curiosity
Lab, a three-mile autonomous vehicle test track2

equipped with 5G and optical fiber networks,
connected streetlights, sensors and traffic
lights able to communicate with the vehicles
and with each other. The street is owned by thecity, which allows driverless vehicles to operateon the two outside lanes, and designates the
middle lane exclusively for human drivers. This
creates a rare real-life (i.e., uncontrolled) testing
environment for autonomous vehicles, while
protecting people.
The city recovers its investment throughbusiness taxes and its reputation as a cuttingedge tech hub, which enables it to attract moreinvestment and jobs.
02
Room for experimentation. Although a key
aspect of becoming future-ready is to minimize
errors and delays in public-service delivery,
cities need the freedom to undergo trial-anderror along the way to realizing their vision.
Future-readiness requires cities and theirpartners to design urban “sandboxes”—safe
spaces for experimental efforts that could
fail to deliver the expected outcomes but
could also lead to outstanding (sometimes
unpredictable) results.
A case in point is an initiative at La Défense,a large business district in the greater
Paris region. Its pilot program is creating
opportunities for companies to explore howultrafast connectivity can transform an area

“Peachtree Corners, Georgia: Innovation Lab of the Future,” ThoughtLab, Jan. 4, 2023, https://thoughtlabgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/City-profiles_Spotlight-on-urban-strategies.pdf

3Paris La Défense website: https://parisladefense.com/fr/decouvrir/

4“5G mmWave Is Reinventing Business Districts—Here’s How,” Qualcomm/Financial Times, https://qualcomm.ft.com/article/5g-mmWave-reinventing-business-districts

9

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

whose hundreds of offices, restaurants,
shopping malls and other attractions receive
millions of visitors every year.3
Paris La Défense’s administration has
partnered with Cellnex, a Spanish wirelesstelecommunications infrastructure andservices company, to run a trial encouraging
applications of 5G mmWave (waves whosebands have low coverage ranges but extremely
high speeds). The idea is to turn this vast area
“into a unique playground and experimental
area for companies wishing to test new use
cases for 5G,” explains Thomas Bertrand,
Deputy General Manager at Cellnex France.4

Create individual
solutions with ashared foundationin mind10

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

It’s essential, of course, toestablish a full-fledged, holistic
future-ready vision. Afterall, that’s what informs theplanning process and serves
as a continuous reminder to all
stakeholders—including citizens
and successive governments—of
what they are working to achieve.
But it’s just as important to let the vision unfold
piece by interconnected piece. Cities will realize
more success by taking it one step at a time—
focusing, for instance, on a single area liketransportation or waste management—thantrying to adopt a “whole package” of measuresfor large sectors.
A gradual approach delivers more immediatetangible benefits for the population, whichhelps sustain buy-in. By reducing the costs thatneed to be covered in each step, it minimizes
the chances that projects will be abandoned,
therefore increasing the likelihood that, in time,
more ambitious objectives will be fulfilled.

Bucaramanga, Colombia: How an Unplanned City Is Preparing for the Future,” ThoughtLab, Jan. 4, 2023,
https://thoughtlabgroup.com/bucaramanga-colombia-unplanned-city-preparing-for-the-future/.
5

11

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Moreover, because a staged approach cansignal where further opportunities will arise,
it can incentivize startups and establishedcompanies to develop and propose new
solutions as city initiatives advance.
With time, new solutions can be added tothe initial initiative, leading to progressively
improved outcomes. A case in point is theColombia city of Bucaramanga. Its citizens
are now enjoying much cleaner streets
thanks to the use of IoT sensors to optimize
trash collection routes and automate its
management. Over time, the city plans to use
AI to discover additional efficiencies in waste
management, as well as creative predictivemodels to forecast and mitigate 		natural disasters. 5

Embolden techchoices, supported
by ecosystem
partners

12

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Study respondents named awide array of technologies
they believe will be key torealizing their future-readygoals (see Figure 2).
Many of these technologies—including
automation, AI, electric vehicles, data
analytics, mobile technologies and cloudcomputing—have long been consideredcore to any smart city endeavor. 5G
will only further the value of thesetechnologies, with its ultra-low latency,
blazing speeds, extra-large bandwidthand fail-proof reliability.

Figure 2

Key technologies for future plans
Q: Which of the following technologies will be most important 		to help your city achieve its future-ready plans? 				(Percent of respondents naming each as important)

Automation
AI
EVs
Data management & analytics
Mobile tech & apps
Cloud computing
Biometrics/digital identity/facial recognition

Other technologies, like digital twins andblockchain, while less used, can serve
as a solid foundation for future-readyendeavors.

Drones/autonomous vehicles
Digital enterprise platforms and collaboration tools
RobotsDigital twins
Blockchain/distributed ledger
Edge computing
AR & VR
Telematics and geospatial technology
0%Source: Cognizant/ThoughtLab
Base: 200 city officials

13

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

50%

100%

Digital twins also allow businesses
and cities to model scenarios andidentify the potential direct and indirectconsequences of alternative decisions ina range of areas.

“Seoul, South Korea: Reimagining a City in the Metaverse,” ThoughtLab, 2022, 				https://thoughtlabgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/City-profiles_Spotlight-on-urban-strategies.pdf.

8“Singapore’s Digital Twin of Entire Country,” Tomorrow’s World Today, Sept., 12, 2022, 				https://www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com/2022/09/12/singapores-digital-twin-of-entire-country/.

14

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Se
ns

Da
t

s
or

s
on

Data exchange

Ac
tiMetaverse Seoul: https://metaverseseoul.kr/user/

7

Virtualdigital twin

An
al
y

6

Physicalsmart cityaAn example of the effective use of digital
twins can be found in the city of Seoul.
The South Korean capital built on its
already robust smart-city infrastructureand solutions to launch a metaverse
version of itself.6 In addition to enabling
citizens to access public services andleisure options, the metaverse space
allows Seoul officials to proactively
diagnose urban issues and possibly
develop solutions, according to thecity’s vice mayor, Dong Cho. “This helps
reduce costs that may otherwise berequired for diagnosis and unexpected
accidents and ensure the safety of our
citizens,” Cho says.7

For instance, in Singapore, the world’s
first country-scale digital twin will be used
to identify the best locations to installsolar panels in the city-state, helping it
achieve its goals of deploying at least
two gigawatt-peak solar energy by 2030
(equivalent to the amount of electricity
used annually by 350,000 households).8stic

Digital twins—virtual replicas of thephysical world updated in real time—canbe a key integration tool for initiatives
that build on and complement theprevious layer of solutions adopted. So
far, over one-third (37%) of cities includedin the survey are currently using a
digital twin, and more than half believe
the technology will play a key role inachieving their future-ready plans.

Share data 				by default

15

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Digital twins and othertechnology-based solutions
at the heart of futureready cities can only be
as good as the data that
feeds them. This makes theavailability of high-quality
data a determinant factor for
generating the insights thatwill fuel ecosystem success.

Figure 3

Data’s key role in city future-readiness
Q: Which of the following data activities will your city pursue 		in the next five years? 								(Percent of respondents citing each activity)

Analyzing data
Gathering data
Managing data
Extracting value from dataIn our study, over 70% of respondents
cited a wide range of data activities
they’d prioritize in the next five years
to meet their future-ready goals, fromanalyzing, gathering and managing
data, to making real-time decisions
based on it (see Figure 3).
More than half said they would prioritize
making data accessible governmentwide (69%) and integrating data (68%).
Such data sharing is essential tooptimizing opportunities for improved
public services, economic development
and better lives for citizens.

Protecting data
Ensuring data quality
Making real-time decisions from data
Making evidence-based decisions
Monetizing data
Making data accessible across government departments
Integrating data
Predicting trends from data
Making data accessible to the public
0%

Source: Cognizant/ThoughtLab
Base: 200 city officials

16

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

50%

100%

Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of this comes from
Kyiv. The Ukrainian capital was well advanced in becoming
future-ready before the start of the Russian invasion in early2022. For example, seven in 10 adults had downloaded the
Kyiv Digital app to do things like pay parking tickets 		
or utility bills.9
The city had also begun developing a situation center, as
well as a platform for coordinating and sharing data fromvarious municipal entities, such as the city’s emergency
services units. Moreover, Kyiv’s network of IoT sensors
and over 7,000 video surveillance cameras were set up toprovide data for advanced video analytics.
With the onset of the war, this system began generating
valuable information for military and law enforcement
officials. At the same time, the Kyiv Digital app added
additional functionalities, such as an early warning for air
raids and information provided by business owners about
which shops were open and where supplies were available.
The benefits of data sharing are also visible in less tense
settings. For example, to support better economic andenvironmental decision-making, the city council in Dublin,
Ireland, has developed data partnerships with MasterCard
to provide insights into consumer spending patterns, aswell as with Google and delivery company DPD to createa street-by-street air-quality map, using electric vehicles
embedded with pollution sensors.

Dublin and the three other councils in its area also created an open data repository
for businesses, citizens and researchers, called Dublinked, which features over
560 datasets on areas ranging from recreation and amenities to the economy
and innovation.10
Data sharing often needs to go beyond a city’s boundaries sincea jurisdiction’s activities are deeply intertwined with those of its
surrounding areas. Additionally, data and lessons from one
location can feed systems and contribute insights to cities
elsewhere. As a result, outcomes improve when data
sharing does not stop at city or even national borders.
A good example of this comes from the US stateof North Carolina, where the city of Cary is
working with nearby towns to monitor risks
from stormwater impact. It has partneredwith SAS, an AI and data management
multinational, to install sensors thatmonitor stream water levels duringstorms that can act as an early
warning flooding system.11“Kyiv, Ukraine: Building Resilience into Future-Ready Plans,” ThoughtLab, 2022, 		
https://thoughtlabgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/City-profiles_Spotlight-on-urban-strategies.pdf.

910“Dublinked: Open Data for the Dublin Region,” Smart Dublin, https://data.smartdublin.ie/.

“Cary, North Carolina: Pursuing Smart Initiatives through Partnerships,” ThoughtLab, 2022,
https://thoughtlabgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/City-profiles_Spotlight-on-urban-strategies.pdf.

1117

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

			Unfortunately, though, most cities are notas good as Dublin and Cary at sharing
and utilizing data across jurisdictional
borders. Only 35% of survey respondents
believe they are proficient at doing
this. Further, respondents are generally
frustrated with their progress in using
data to achieve their goals across avariety of activities, from sustainability to
public safety and security (see Figure 4).
Clearly, data management and data
sharing are two key areas for cities
to work on, in coordination with theirecosystem partners.

Figure 4

Widespread frustration with using data to achieve goals
Q: How would you rate your city’s progress in using data to achieve
its goals in the following urban domains? 					(Percent of respondents saying good or very good progress)

Public safety and security
Living and health
Digital infrastructure and networks
Economy, industry and talent
Mobility and transportation
Energy, water and other utilities
Environment and sustainability0%

Source: Cognizant/ThoughtLab
Base: 200 city officials

18

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

50%

Take security andprivacy concerns
to heart

19

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Though crucial, data sharing can’t
come at the expense of cybersecurity
and citizen privacy. In fact, these are
two critical elements of any soundand sustainable future-preparedness
strategy. Without them, mistrust
undermines relationships, and thefuture-ready ecosystem cannot deliver.
In the absence of strong cyber defenses,
citizen and other data may fall into thewrong hands, putting government services
at risk of being paralyzed, with potentiallyserious consequences for essential services.
Fortunately, most cities are increasingly awareof these risks. In the next five years, 74% of
respondents intend to prioritize data protection.
Take the case of St. Catharines, in the
Canadian province of Ontario. The city uses
the AI-based services of UK-US cybersecurity
company Darktrace. By learning the normal
pattern of the city’s IT systems, the AI system
recognizes unusual activity that may reveal anattack. And if a serious attack does take place,it takes accurate action to stop it without
affecting the rest of the city’s 			digital operations.12

12

Poor privacy tends to be less headlinegrabbing than a destructive cyberattack,but it can cause a political and legal backlash,undermining initiatives that seek to make cities
more prepared for the future. Any business andlocal authority working in a future ready-city
project should learn the lesson from Toronto
in Ontario, Canada. The city is remaking its
original smart city vision after concerns overprivacy helped bury the ambitious plans it
had developed with Sidewalk Labs, the urban
innovation unit of Alphabet, for the high-techdevelopment of the Quayside area.13
Concern about the increased use of sensors
and the potential for citizen surveillance isincreasingly widespread. As French activist
group La Quadrature Du Net puts it, “The socalled Smart City is turning our future into theTechnopolice: Under the guise of optimizationand decision support, they transform the wholeurban world into a vast surveillance project.”14
Future-ready ecosystem partners mustacknowledge that these concerns are real andjustified. Fortunately, progress is being made.
Cities such as New York and Chicago havecreated new positions for chief privacy officers,
and the UK has instituted an “Algorithmic
Transparency Recording Standard” to help
public sector organizations provide clear
information about the algorithmic tools theyuse, and why they’re using them.15”A New Sheriff in Town: Why the City of St. Catharines Turned to Darktrace to Protect its Digital Assets,” Darktrace, Aug. 9, 2022, 						https://darktrace.com/blog/a-new-sheriff-in-town-why-the-city-of-st-catharines-turned-to-darktrace-to-protect-its-digital-assets

13“Toronto Wants to Kill the Smart City Forever,” MIT Technology Review, June 29, 2022, https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/29/1054005/toronto-kill-the-smart-city/.

14“The Technopolice Manifesto: Resisting the Total Surveillance of Our Cities and of Our Lives,” La Quadrature Du Net, May 31, 2020, 						https://technopolice.fr/blog/the-technopolice-manifesto-resisting-the-total-surveillance-of-our-cities-and-of-our-lives/.

20

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

AI and machine learning solutions are
increasingly incorporating built-in privacy
protections. For example, differential privacy
systems—which, for instance, Google offers in
its free and open-access TensorFlow software
library—mitigate the risk of exposing sensitive
data used to train ML algorithms.16
Much more needs to be done; only 30% of
local officials surveyed say their city avoids
collecting and using citizen data because ofconcerns around privacy.

Embracing thefuture-ready city
vision21

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Just as sewage systems and electricity madecities more livable and efficient over a century
ago, new and emerging technologies have thepotential to further boost the city’s role in spurring
human progress.
But to thrive in the coming decades, cities must be
future-ready. Doing so has never looked more possible,
as cities lay the groundwork for the next generation of
5G networking and embrace emerging technologies tosupport their plans.
By forming well-calibrated ecosystems and well-developed
policies that make future-ready capabilities beneficial andaccessible to all, cities can pave the way to a future inwhich they continue to play a vibrant role.

15“Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard Hub,” UK Government Website, Jan. 5, 2023, 					https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/algorithmic-transparency-recording-standard-hub.

16“Implementing Differential Privacy with TensorFlow Privacy,” TensorFlow,
https://www.tensorflow.org/responsible_ai/privacy/tutorials/classification_privacy

22

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

About the authors

Acknowledgments

Eduardo Plastino

The authors would like to thank the following 			
Cognizant colleagues for their insights and 		
contributions to this report:

Eduardo Plastino is a Director at Cognizant Research,based in London. Previously he was Accenture Researchlead for Latin America. His work focuses on the impactof the digital and sustainability revolutions on societies,
organizations and economies.
Eduardo is a certified strategic foresight practitioner, afellow at the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures andCommerce (RSA) and a member of the MIT Technology
Review Global Panel. He has master’s degrees from theLondon School of Economics (LSE) and the Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). He can be reached
at: Eduardo.Plastino@cognizant.com or LinkedIn

Rajeshwer Chigullapalli
Rajeshwer Chigullapalli is Associate Director at Cognizant
Research. He has been involved with Cognizant’s thought
leadership activity for over 12 years, focused on unravelling
implications of business technologies across industries.
Rajeshwer has over 27 years of experience that spansbusiness research, thought leadership, B2B publishing
and academic publishing. Previously he was Chief Editor,
SPG Media, India and Head of Icfai University Press. He canbe reached at: Rajeshwer.Chigullapalli@cognizant.com
or LinkedIn

23

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

Jeremiah Carroll
Associate Director,
Global Alliances, StrategicPartnership Group, Cognizant

Carl Osipov
Machine Learning/Artificial
Intelligence (ML/AI) Solutions
Lead, Cognizant

Mariesa Coughanour
Head of North America
Delivery, Advisory and Strategic
Engagement, Cognizant
Automation Practice

Ryan Schmidt
Digital Innovation Leader,
Sustainability, Cognizant

Shivanajay Marwaha
Program Manager, Internet ofThings (IoT), Cognizant
Ramakrishna Mulukutla
Practice Leader, Geographic
Information Systems/LocationBased Services (GIS/LBS),
CognizantWendy Wagner
Alliances Leader, Internet ofThings (IoT), North America
We’re also grateful toMary Brandel, editor, 		
and the ThoughtLab staff.

Methodology
This study is based on research conducted byThoughtLab between May and November 2022.
ThoughtLab surveyed 200 city officials across six regions.

51

25

45

21

North America

Asia Pacific40

Europe24

Latin America

Sub-Saharan 		Africa18

Middle East andNorthern Africa

Beyond smart cities—to future-ready cities

ThoughtLab also surveyed 2,000 citizens from the following 20 cities:
Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Bangkok (Thailand),Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Bengaluru (India), Boston (USA), Cali (Colombia),
Chengdu (China), Detroit (USA), Glasgow (UK), Johannesburg (South Africa),
Melbourne (Australia), Nairobi (Kenya), Pearland (USA), San Francisco (USA),
Seoul (South Korea), Stockholm (Sweden), Tallinn (Estonia), Teheran (Iran),
Vancouver (Canada).
ThoughtLab also conducted in-depth interviews with city officials from thefollowing 15 cities: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Austin (USA), Barcelona (Spain),
Bucaramanga (Colombia), Cary (USA), Chengdu (China), Chicago (USA),
Dublin (Ireland), Kyiv (Ukraine), New York (USA), Orlando (USA), Peachtree
Corners (USA), Perth (Australia), Seoul (South Korea) and Toyota City (Japan).
ThoughtLab’s work was supported by an external advisory board composedof local policymakers, academic scholars and experts from different
businesses. Many advisory board members were also interviewed during the
research process.
Cognizant—which was on the advisory board and one of the research
project’s co-sponsors—also conducted additional secondary research during
the development of this and the other reports in this series.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (Nasdaq-100: CTSH) engineers modern businesses. We help our clients modernize technology, reimagine processes
and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in our fast-changing world. Together, we’re improving everyday life.
See how at www.cognizant.com or @Cognizant.
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Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam
Chennai, 600 096 India
Phone: +91 (0) 44 4209 6000
Fax: +91 (0) 44 4209 6060

1 Fusionopolis Link, Level 5
NEXUS@One-North, North Tower
Singapore 138542
Phone: +65 6812 4000

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