The alarming news is that, once again, none of 407 cities examined in our 2022 Smart City Ranking has achieved a digitalization level above 50 percent. Jürgen Germies explains that this is because “Many cities have not devoted sufficient attention to their long-term development over the past few years.” These failings are now clearly apparent in the context of the current energy crisis. This is one more reason why municipalities should by no means put the issue of their long-term development on the back burner.
But how can every urban community – whatever its size – successfully transform itself into a smart city? According to Jürgen Germies, several different factors determine the success (or failure) of a smart city. A basic requirement is to adopt an strategic approach to the Smart City topic. The consultant also notes the need for all of the relevant stakeholders to be integrated in the process. What is more: “Intelligent urban development will not function without an institution which safeguards the viability of public services in general and digital public services especially.”
This illustrates the decisive importance of cities and municipal utilities closely cooperating in order to achieve Smart City status. After all, municipal utilities which “lay” the foundations for an intelligently integrated city through their fiber-optic rollout activities will be in a position to “establish themselves as genuine Smart City enablers.”
The full article can be found in the current issue of the “Zeitung für kommunale Wirtschaft” newspaper (page 9). If you would like to find out more about the current results of our 2022 Smart City Ranking, please contact Dr. Lucia Wright.