London is Europe’s “smartest city”, study finds

A new study from technology company ProptechOS revealed that London is leading the way as Europe’s smartest city, ahead of both Amsterdam (second) and Berlin (third).

The study measured 100 cities in Europe and the US against 11 indicators of a ‘smart city’ split into three categories: tech infrastructure and 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.

The firm also looked at the American cities that are best prepared for a smart future and found that Austin is the smartest city in the United States, with an overall score of 75.4 out of 100.

As the top European city, London scored particularly high on its technology infrastructure and green infrastructure. It has more EV charging stations and more green certified buildings than any other European or US city featured in the study.

London also ranked first overall across Europe and the US for Internet of Things companies, with 346 IoT companies headquartered and operating in the capital.

However, according to ProptechOS, European cities scored lower than their US counterparts for smart city potential, with only two European cities featuring in the overall top 20: London (third overall) and Amsterdam (16 overall).

Erik Wallin, founder and chief ecosystem officer at ProptechOS, said “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 U.S. and European cities will be leading the way into a smarter future.”

Last week, the UK government announced a reshuffle of departments which created four new divisions from the former DCMS and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) units.

The new departments will cover policy across energy, security and net zero, business and trade, and a re-focused Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).