At the beginning of October, the IMD World Competitiveness Center's Smart City Observatory published, in association with the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the IMD Smart City Index 2019. This index, which is in its first edition, focuses on measuring how citizens perceive the efforts their city makes to become a Smart City. This takes into account economic and technological aspects, but from a social approach adapted to "human dimensions", as the observatory itself explains.
The methodology used in preparing the index consisted of obtaining the perceptions of 120 inhabitants of each of the 102 cities present in the ranking. These perceptions are based on two main pillars: a structural one focused on the existing infrastructures in cities; and a technological one focused on the services and provisions available to residents. Additionally, each of these pillars is evaluated on five key areas: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities and governance. Along with this, a measurement of 15 indicators is carried out, for which the 5 most important are requested according to the consideration of the respondents regarding the greatest needs of the city.
In the ranking, the 10 cities that make the greatest efforts in the eyes of their inhabitants to become Smart Cities would be: 1. Singapore, 2. Zurich, 3. Oslo, 4. Geneva, 5. Copenhagen, 6. Auckland, 7. Taipei , 8. Helsinki, 9. Bilbao, 10. Dusseldorf. In addition to Bilbao (9), other cities appear in the IMD Smart City Index classification such as Madrid (21), Barcelona (48) or Zaragoza (49). Bilbao stands out in aspects such as its public transport, basic sanitation in the most humble areas, green spaces, the provision of medical services and recycling services in terms of structures. It also stands out for the improvement in the organization of online medical appointments, as well as for its use in purchasing tickets for shows.
The rest of the cities, such as Madrid, stand out for aspects related to basic sanitation in the most humble areas, as well as recycling services, public transportation, cultural activities or job search services. Barcelona, in its case, maintains similar classifications, although its citizens prioritize access to affordable housing and satisfactory employment.
The publication of indices like this demonstrate the efforts that Spanish cities make to introduce innovation into the lives of their citizens. The Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI) wants to highlight this aspect. Cooperation between cities that make up the RECI, as well as structured work in their groups, is essential to export these success stories.
