Does Toronto Need To Become More Like New York?
New York, London and Paris are once again the world's smartest cities — but Toronto has placed in the top-10.
In fact, Toronto is Canada's only city to place in the top-10, and is one of only two North American cities to make that cut.
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According to the fifth edition of the IESE Cities in Motion Index (CIMI), compiled by the Center for Globalization and Strategy, under the supervision of professors Pascual Berrone and Joan Enric Ricart, the world's smartest cities are very much in line with last year's rankings.
It seems London and New York are always competing for first place, while Hong Kong and Toronto keep battling it out for eighth. This year, Toronto snagged that spot.
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But what is a smart city?
This fifth edition of the world's smartest cities rankings, studies the level of development of 165 cities from 80 countries.
It looks at nine points that are seen as critical to a smart, sustainable city: Human capital (developing, attracting and nurturing talent), social cohesion (consensus among social groups in a city), economy, environment, governance, urban planning, international outreach, technology, and mobility and transportation (ease of movement and access to public services).
READ: Toronto Ranks As One The Most Future-Proof Cities On The Planet
The study has also added updates from previous years. It now takes into account the number of terrorist attacks, the number of Apple Store outlets and other variables, such as GDP per capita projections and rising temperatures.
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While this latest edition of the index seems to show the strength of mega-cities such as New York and London, the authors also point to the examples of mid-sized cities such as Amsterdam, Melbourne, Copenhagen. Not to be ignored either are the smaller cities like Reykjavik and Wellington.
Size matters — but it doesn't necessarily mean amazing results.
These rankings aim to function as a tool for mayors, city managers, companies and interest groups to improve the quality of life of city residents in many areas including: innovation, sustainability, equity and connectedness.
The World's Top-10 Smartest Cities
1. New York City
2. London
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Reykjavik
6. Singapore
7. Seoul
8. Toronto
9. Hong Kong
10. Amsterdam
