London and Austin ranked top for smart city potential

London and Austin are ranked top for smart city preparedness in European and US indexes respectively.

The rankings were compiled by real state company ProptechOS which looked at the 100 most populous cities in Europe and the US to discover which are the most adapted to emerging technologies and prepared for a smarter future.

Smart city indicators

The company examined 11 indicators of a smart city, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), in the categories of tech infrastructure and connectivity; green infrastructure; and tech-driven job markets.

These included data points such as broadband speeds, the number of tech jobs per 10,000 residents, and access to electric vehicle charging points. 

Each city was then awarded an overall score out of 100, as well as a score for each of the three categories.

“The cities that will thrive in the future will be the ones best adapted to our new and greener ways of living”

Amsterdam came second in the European ranking followed by Berlin, with Paris and Lisbon rounding out the top five. As the top European city, London scores particularly high on its technology and connectivity infrastructure, and on its green infrastructure. The English capital has nine 5G towers installed, which is more than any other city in the analysis. Its average broadband speeds are 82.7mbps, which is better than two thirds (65 per cent) of the other cities in the analysis.

European cities scored lower than their US counterparts for smart city potential in the study. Only two European cities featured in the overall top 20, namely London in third and Amsterdam in sixteenth.