Dublin rises three places to 30th in global smart city ranking

DUBLIN has been ranked as the 30th smartest city in the world, according to the 2018 ‘IESE Cities in Motion Index’.

Smartest cities, according to the Index, are those that score highest in nine dimensions considered keys to progress; human capital, social cohesion, economy, environment, governance, urban planning, international outreach, technology, and mobility and transportation.

The Index, prepared for the Centre for Globalisation at University of Navarra in Spain, analyses the level of development of 165 cities from 80 countries.

Dublin’s 2018 performance is an improvement of three places for the city, when compared with the 2017 Index.

Dublin ranked 16th for the economy, and 17th in the technology dimension.

The capital city also performed well in the area of social cohesion, ranking 22nd.

Meanwhile, in the areas of environment and governance, the city ranked 35 and 45 respectively.

However, it fell down in a number of other areas including mobility and transport, where it ranked 100 out of 165 cities, and human capital, where it ranked 80 out of 165.

Dublin, the only Irish city listed in the Index, also failed to perform well in the area of urban planning, ranking 75th out of the 165 cities.

The report comes at a time when house prices are rising across the country, with employers warning of the impact this is having on staffing.

Among the more notable cities ranked below Dublin are Geneva, Munich, Frankfurt, Vancouver, and Brussels. New York, London and Paris topped the list as the world’s smartest cities, with the top 10 largely remaining stable since last year – the lone movement being Amsterdam inching up one spot to push Berlin into 11th place.

“Today, more than ever, cities need to develop strategic planning processes, since only then can they outline paths toward innovation and prioritise the aspects that are most important for their future,” the report said.

Europe, with 12 cities ranking among the top 25, was the top-performing geographical area.

It is followed by North America, with six, while Asia has four cities ranked in the top 25, all of which are in the top10. The Oceania region, which includes Australasia, and Polynesia, had three cities in the top 25.

Coming in fourth on the list, Tokyo was the highestranked Asian city, while Melbourne – ranking 12th of the 165 cities – leads the Oceania cities.

Meanwhile, the highestranking Middle Eastern city is Dubai. However, African cities lagged behind, with Tunis, the highest-ranked, far down the list at 134.

Despite its small size, Iceland’s capital Reykjavik was ranked the fifthsmartest city in the world, topping the environmental dimension, and ranking seventh for both technology and mobility and transport. The Nordic

city, which has a population of about 123,300, ranked further down in the areas of human capital – 88th – and urban planning, where it ranked 66th out of the 165 cities in the Index.

The Index initiative connects a global network of experts in cities and specialist private companies with local governments from around the world.

The aim of the Index is to promote changes at the local level and to develop ideas and innovative tools that will lead to more sustainable and smarter cities.