Sixteen Shades of Smart - Preview

24 Sixteen shades of smart

Cities

Countries

Status

Medellin

Colombia

2,553,372

Montreal

Canada

1,914,592

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

1,760,000*

Amsterdam

Netherlands

903,349

Boston

USA

706,979

Tallinn

Estonia

427,389

Zurich

Switzerland

415,783

Bilbao

Spain

354,860**

Ramallah

Palestinian Teritorries

57,000***

Note: Source: www.population.city

* Source: http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/kuala-lumpur-population/ ** Source: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/spain-population/cities/ *** Source: https://wikitravel.org/en/Ramallah

An additional element that distinguishes the cities studied is the level of development. Unfortunately, data at a city level is not convincing in its reliability and thus we also show the GDP per capita at the country level. Figure 3 – Panel A reports this variable for the 16 economies in which the cities studied are located. As can be seen, GDP per capita ranges from almost US$81,000 in Switzerland down to approximately US$2,000 in India. The subsequent step is to establish if there is a relationship between the challenges revealed by the smart initiatives and projects undertaken by the cities and the economic development level of the country in which they are located. This important connection is presented in Figure 3 – Panel B which reveals some interesting insights into the direct association between the challenges urban settings are facing and the GDP per capita of the country. Issues related to basic amenities, security, corruption and governance are important challenges for cities with low per capita income. Alternatively, challenges related to advanced health and future employment are issues more often prominent in high-income per capita cities.

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