The Cities of the Future Index Study uses data to reveal which global cities are using technology to create a more sustainable and liveable present and future for their citizens. At EasyPark, we are leaders in using innovative technologies to make mobility in cities smarter. For several years we have studied smart cities and their development and, in the face of new challenges, decided to focus our research in order to learn from those urban areas that are setting examples for others to follow. Many cities are currently adopting cutting edge technology to provide a more sustainable future and improve the wellbeing of its residents through intelligent solutions, such as electric vehicle charging or camera parking. We analysed thousands of cities across the world, including the 3,200 that EasyPark Group currently operates in. We recognise that cities face their own unique challenges and develop differently depending on a variety of factors, including their size, so we split this study into three categories based on the population of each city. Whilst thousands of urban areas across the globe were assessed, here we rank the 50 best scoring cities in each size category. To conduct the study, we focused on four areas that indicate how intelligent and sustainable a city is. The first evaluates the Digital Life of a city’s inhabitants, looking at the prevalence of world class technology educational facilities and healthcare innovation systems, and the amount of technology that has been adopted by a city on an individual and governmental level. Secondly, the Mobility Innovation of each city was assessed by taking into account the quality of parking innovation, traffic management and how green the transportation is. Following this, the Business Tech Infrastructure of each city was studied. Factors included within this category include business innovation, the prevalence of ePayments and the overall internet connectivity. Finally, each city’s environmental footprint was considered by collecting data on its climate response and overall waste management, how many green buildings there are and how widespread the use of green energy is. The index reveals the most intelligent cities in the world, or as we call them - Cities of the Future, ranked by score. The tables below reveal the results, where a higher score indicates a more advanced and smart city. You can filter each factor from highest to lowest and vice versa by clicking on the icon above each column. For a full explanation of how each factor was calculated, please see the methodology at the bottom of the page. The categories are as follows: Metropolitan areas with populations over 3 million people. Metropolitan areas with populations between 600,000 and 3 million people. Metropolitan areas with populations between 50,000 and 600,000 people. Instructions for journalists Digital Life Citizen Adoption Government Adoption Healthcare Innovation Tech Education Mobility Innovation Parking Innovation Traffic Management Clean Transport Business Tech Infrastructure Business Innovation ePayments Internet Connectivity Sustainability Green Energy Green Buildings Waste Management Climate Response Click on the boxes below to see the rankings Select International Results Cities Methodology The Cities of the Future Index analyses the most technologically and sustainably advanced cities in the world. It considers 14 factors that contribute to entrepreneurial, environmental and societal progress. Thousands of global cities were reviewed and ranked according to these 14 factors, from which a final list of the top 150 cities was determined based on total scores and the availability of comparable data. City Selection The initial list of cities was based on various smart city rankings, as well as global university rankings. The cities were divided into three categories depending on their size: cities with more than 3 million inhabitants, cities with between 600,000 and 3 million inhabitants and cities with between 50,000 and 600,000 inhabitants. Population data refers to each city’s metropolitan area. For the final list of locations, the top 50 in each category were chosen; urban areas with insufficient data were excluded. Rotterdam is categorised as a city with more than 3 million inhabitants. This is because the metropolitan population data from the OECD lists Rotterdam as having a population of 3,494,348 inhabitants. How cities are categorised Cities are categorised according to the population of their metropolitan areas to reflect that local infrastructure is typically designed to support this wider population. In some cases, smaller cities are therefore included in larger size classes and vice versa. Examples include San Francisco (883,255), Düsseldorf (620,523) and Amsterdam (813,562), where the metropolitan populations are used. Factors & Scoring The study was divided into four categories - Digital Life, Mobility Innovation, Business Tech Infrastructure, Sustainability - comprising the following factors: Digital Life Citizen Adoption Government Adoption Healthcare Innovation Tech Education Mobility Innovation Parking Innovation Traffic Management Clean Transport Business Tech Infrastructure Business Innovation ePayments Internet Connectivity Sustainability Green Energy Green Buildings Waste Management Climate Response Each factor consists of one or more indicators which were scored and averaged. The equation for scoring is as follows: For columns where a low value is better, the score is inverted so that a high score is always better: Data is normalised on a [50-100] scale, with 100 being the best score. Therefore, the higher the score, the better the city ranks for that factor in comparison to the other cities in the index. The formula used is min-max normalisation: The final score was determined by calculating the sum of the weighted average score of all of the indicators. Below you can find a detailed description of each factor within the study, and the source used. Digital Life Citizen Adoption The Citizen Adoption score represents the propensity of citizens to adopt new technologies and shows to what extent they tend to be early adopters. A higher score indicates better technological adoption on a city level, and was based on: The number of startups in the healthcare, lifestyle and internet service sectors in each city, both in absolute terms and on a per population basis. Number of app downloads and ranking in food, navigation, travel, education and financial services categories, excluding reference and utility apps. Sources: App Ranking Directories, Startup Directories. Government Adoption The Government Adoption score represents the propensity of governments to adopt new technologies and the level of digitalisation in the country. A higher score indicates better governmental adoption on a national level, and was based on: National Digital Infrastructure Indices. Digital Economy Score. Development of eGovernment services. Sources: IMD Business School, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, United Nations, World Bank. Healthcare Innovation A score that measures the overall quality of the healthcare system in the country, the adoption of electronic healthcare services and the prominence of e-healthcare apps in each city. The score is based on: Healthcare Quality and Access Index. The number of startups in the healthcare sector in each city, both in absolute terms and on a per population basis. Number of app downloads and ranking in the healthcare and medical categories, excluding reference and utility apps. Sources: The Lancet, App Ranking Directories, Startup Directories. Tech Education The presence of internationally recognized research universities in each city. A higher score indicates a greater number of highly ranked universities. The score is based on the following indicators: Highly ranked universities for computer science degrees. Highly ranked universities for engineering degrees. Sources: University Rankings Directories. Mobility Innovation Parking Innovation A score that measures how widespread the use of parking technology is in each city. A higher score indicates a more developed parking ecosystem. The score is based on the following indicators: The overall number of parking spaces per capita. The number of parking spaces capable of accepting digital payments. The number of parking technology providers operating in the city. Civilian adoption of parking technology. The level of parking technology implementation. Sources: OpenStreetMap, EasyPark proprietary data, IMD World Competitiveness Center. Traffic Management A score that measures congestion levels and commute times in each city. A high score indicates a low level of congestion and fast commute times. It consists of the following indicators: Congestion levels. Time spent in traffic during a commute. Dissatisfaction due to long commute times. Sources: Numbeo, Navigation Providers. Clean Transport A score that measures the prevalence of low carbon driving technologies. A high score indicates a low level of fossil fuelled transport. It consists of the following indicators: Electric cars per capita and new electric car sales. Electric car charging stations per capita. CO2 emissions. Sources: International Energy Agency (IEA), Numbeo, e-charging station directories. Business Tech Infrastructure Business Innovation A score that measures the startup activity in each city. A high score indicates a high number of startups both in absolute terms and on a per population basis. It consists of startups from the following fields: Healthcare. Internet Services. Financial Services. Lifestyle Services. Media. Sources: Startup Directories. ePayments A score that measures the prevalence of digital payments. A high score indicates a high level of digital payments. It consists of the following indicators: Percentage of the population that is in favour of a cashless society. Percentage of the population that has been cashless since the beginning of the pandemic. Number of cashless retail transactions per 1,000 adults. Credit card ownership. Debit card ownership. Percentage of the population that paid bills or bought something online in the past year. Sources: World Bank, YouGov. Internet Connectivity A score that measures internet quality and 5G availability. A high score indicates good internet quality and 5G availability. It consists of the following indicators: Median download and upload speeds. 5G deployment and government efforts to promote 5G. 5G availability in major cities. Number of 5G providers per city. Sources: The Economist, Internet Speed Measurement Apps. Sustainability Green Energy A score that measures the share of each city’s energy consumption that comes from renewable sources. The cities are represented by country level data. In the case of the US, state level data was used. A high score indicates a high usage of renewable energy. It consists of the following indicators: Share of nationwide energy consumed from renewable sources. Share of electricity consumption from renewable sources. Sources: Ourworldindata, US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Green Buildings A score that measures the number of buildings certified as green. A high score indicates high numbers of certified green buildings. It consists of the following indicators: Number of certified green buildings. Building activities. Activities per square foot. Percentage of total buildings certified as green. Sources: Green Building Information Gateway, USA Green Building Council. Waste Management A score that analyses the amount of waste generated and how it is handled. The cities are represented by country level data. A high score indicates low levels of waste generated and a high recycling rate. It consists of the following indicators: Waste generated per capita. Waste collection coverage. The recycling rate in each country. Sources: Waste Atlas. Climate Response A score that measures the risks associated with climate change and the steps undertaken in response. The cities are represented by country level data. A high score indicates low levels of climate risk and/or a strong commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It consists of the following indicators: Estimated percentage increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Total CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Expenditure on environment protection. Change in CO2 emissions per capita over time. Number of climate laws, policies and targets in place. Sources: Climate Change Performance Index, Germanwatch, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change, International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, Ourworldindata, Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy.