Cities that have excelled in digital transformation, mobility, urban environment, inclusivity and sharing, governance and finance, and innovation are among those named as finalists in the 2019 World Smart City Awards (WSCA).

Winners will be announced at Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), organised by Fira de Barcelona on 20 November. A total of 28 cities and projects have been chosen finalists of the seven categories of the awards.

City Award finalists

The 2019 edition of the WSCA is one of the biggest editions to date and registered over 450 entries from 59 different countries in its seven categories.

Six cities have been named in the prestigious City Award category, which was won last year by Singapore. They are:

• Bristol (UK) for its Connecting Bristol initiative;
• Curitiba (Brazil) for the Case Vale do Pinhão Innovation Ecosystem programme;
• Montevideo (Uruguay) for the Montevideo Smart City with equity, inclusion and environmental sustainability project;
• Seoul (Republic of Korea) for the Data Driven Smart City initiative;
• Stockholm (Sweden) for the GrowSmarter: transforming cities for a smart, sustainable Europe project;
• Tehran (Iran) for its Smart Tehran programme.

The finalists of the remaining categories are as follows:

Digital transformation

• FC Barcelona, Barcelona (Spain);
• People’s Government of Yingtan, Yingtan (China);
• Korea Land & Housing Corporation, Jinju-si (Korea, Republic Of).

Mobility

• Taipei Smart City Project Management Office, Taipei City (Taiwan);
• State Cable Transportation Company Mi Teleférico, La Paz (Bolivia);
• Axilion Smart Mobility, Tel Aviv (Israel).

Urban environment

• Qucit, Bègles (France);
• PlataformaVerde, Sao Paulo (Brazil);
• Hexagon, Madison (USA).

Inclusive & sharing cities

• Government of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (Argentina);
• City Hall of Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte (Brazil);
• SocialBoost, Kyiv (Ukraine).

Governance & finance

• City of Los Angeles - Information Technology Agency, Los Angeles (USA);
• Boost.ai, Sandnes (Norway);
• Huzhou Municipal Big Data Development Administration, Huzhou (China).

Innovative idea

• Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan);
• Meraki Design Studio, Valdodara (India);
• DHL, Bonn (Germany);
• Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai, UAE;
• Makati City, Makati (Indonesia);
• South Africa State Information Technology Agency SOC LTD, Pretoria (South Africa);
• FCC Environment, Barcelona (Spain).

The theme of this year’s Expo is Cities Made of Dreams and organisers Fira de Barcelona said the show and congress will reflect on the transformation that metropolises have experienced in the past decade. The event takes place 19-21 November at Gran Via Venue, Barcelona.

Visit the World Smart City Awards page for detailed information on all 28 candidates.

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