TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei is the world’s 16th smartest city and fifth smartest in Asia, according to a global index.
On April 8, the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) based in Switzerland released its 2024 Smart City Index. Taipei this year improved by 13 places to rank 16th in the world, while the top three cities are Zurich, Switzerland, Oslo, Norway, and Canberra, Australia.
The 2024 Smart City Index rankings are similar to previous years. The top 10 are Zurich, Oslo, Canberra, Geneva (Switzerland), Singapore, Copenhagen (Denmark), Lausanne (Switzerland), London (U.K.), Helsinki (Finland), and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
For Asian cities, Singapore took the lead (5), followed by Abu Dhabi (10), Dubai (12), Beijing (13), Taipei (16), and Seoul (17).
In its report on Taipei, IMD noted that the city had entered the top 20 for the first time. On a scale of AAA to D, Taipei received a smart city rating of A, a structures rating of BBB, and a technologies rating of A.
Taipei received maximum scores for basic sanitation, recycling services, medical services, arranging medical appointments online, and online ticket purchasing to shows and museums. It also received maximum scores for every criterion of mobility, including car-sharing apps, parking apps, bicycle availability, online scheduling of public transport, and mobile phone information on traffic congestion.
From a list of 15 areas that residents listed as a priority for improvement, the biggest concern was affordable housing, followed by road congestion, air pollution, fulfilling employment, security, and corruption/transparency.
The 2024 Smart City Index report was compiled by the IMD and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. Researchers combined various data and survey responses from citizens to determine the ranking of 142 cities globally.
According to the report, 120 residents from each city participated in the survey. The survey included questions such as whether traffic congestion is a problem, whether the quality of free public Wi-Fi services had improved access to city services, and whether the internet speed and reliability meet connectivity needs.