Amsterdam has just secured a top-three spot in in the EasyPark Smart Cities Index 2019, a list of 100 cities worldwide that ranks them - as the name would suggest - according to how "smart" they are. 

The Smart Cities Index 2019

So, what makes a city smart? For the ranking, the Smart Cities Index (SCI) analysed a total of 500 cities to determine how effectively they manage their assets and resources. Using 24 different factors, each city was assigned a score and then the top 100 were ranked. 

Cities were given a score out of 10 for each factor, which encompassed many different aspects of modern living, including transport and mobility, sustainability, governance, innovation economy, digitalisation, living standard and expert perception. This year's ranking included the factors Blockchain Ecosystem and Government Digitalisation for the first time.

Amsterdam in the top three

Amsterdam ranks third place in the Smart Cities Index 2019. The Dutch capital does decently well across the board, even attaining a perfect score in Expert Perception. The city also ranked highly for smart parking, citizen participation, digitalisation of government and blockchain ecosystem, achieving a score of above 9 for each factor.

Additionally, Amsterdam performed well in traffic (8,87), waste disposal (8,93) and E-charge spots (8,26). It attained an overall score of 7,55, which is just 0,08 off the top spot holder, Oslo (7,63).

Amsterdam didn't do so well on public transport (3,34), clean energy (1,92), environmental protection (4,93) and education (5,46). It also received a score of 6,97 for business ecosystem which, considering the Netherlands has just been crowned the most competitive economy in Europe, seems peculiarly low.

No other Dutch city in the top 100

Somewhat surprisingly, no other Dutch city makes the list of the top 100 cities. Technology and technological advancement are a lot more than just people using their mobile phones, access to the internet or social media. They can be used to help improve a city’s infrastructure, help streamline waste management or improve education. If the Netherlands can improve the use of technology to help make cities more efficient, we may see more Dutch cities feature on the Index in the years to come.

Top 10 smartest cities: total scores

Take a look at the SCI top 10 smart cities for 2019: 

1. Oslo, Norway – 7,63
2. Bergen, Norway – 7,57
3. Amsterdam, Netherlands – 7,55
4. Copenhagen, Denmark – 7,38
5. Stockholm, Sweden – 7,29
6. Montreal, Canada – 7,22
7. Vienna, Austria – 7,17
8. Odense, Denmark – 7,14
9. Singapore, Singapore – 7,07
10. Boston, US – 7,07

For more information, see the Smart Cities Index 2019 website.