Abu Dhabi and Dubai have emerged as the smartest cities in the Middle East region. Dubai holds the first and Abu Dhabi, second. Dubai is ranked 45th globally, while Abu Dhabi was 56th
Over the past 12 months, Abu Dhabi has made a significant improvement in the Institute for Management Development’s 2020 Smart City Index, after having ranked 56th last year. Dubai, rose two places up to 43rd. The index ranks cities based on economic and technological data, as well as by their citizens’ perceptions of how “smart” their cities are.
According to the IESE Cities in Motion Index, New York, London and Paris are the three top ranking smart cities in the world. Hundreds of citizens from 109 countries were surveyed and asked questions on the technological provisions of their city across five key areas: Health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities and governance. Reflected in this year’s rankings is that cities have ever differing approaches to technology as managing the pandemic has become increasingly important in local politics.
This year’s rankings also highlighted the ability of countries to develop cities beyond their capital. In the 2020 rankings, Bilbao fares better than Madrid, and Birmingham this year improved by 12 positions whereas London jumped just five.
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