A new study has revealed the 10 European cities that are best prepared for a smart future.
According to the research, from ProptechOS, London leads the way ahead of Amsterdam and Berlin. Paris and Lisbon rounded out the top 5.
The real estate technology company looked at the 100 most populous cities in Europe and the US to discover which ones are the most adapted to emerging technologies.
They looked at 11 indicators of a smart city, as defined by the OECD, in the following categories: tech infrastructure & connectivity; green infrastructure; and tech-driven job market. 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 study also looked at US cities, finding that European cities fall behind their US counterparts. London was third overall behind Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, California.
Only two European cities featured in the overall top 20, with Amsterdam in 16th.
London scored particularly highly for its technology infrastructure and green infrastructure. The UK’s capital has more EV charging stations (2,600) and more green certified buildings (4,948) than any other city in Europe or the United States looked at in the study. It also came first across both continents for Internet of Things, with 346 IoT companies headquartered and operating there.
“The cities that will thrive in the future will be the ones best adapted to our new and greener ways of living. By looking at a range of factors, including tech infrastructure, sustainability, and the tech-driven job market, we were able to get a better picture of the US and European cities will be leading the way into a smarter future,” said Dr Erik Wallin, founder and chief ecosystem officer at ProptechOS.