Amsterdam tops IMD's Smart City Index

Ranking the ‘smartest’ cities in the world

What makes a city ‘smart’? As urban areas face a future of increasing populations and growing climate challenges, data-driven solutions are vital to ensuring public safety and maintaining quality of life for residents. Published for the first time in 2 years by the Institute for Management Development (IMD), the 2023 IMD Smart City Index focuses on providing a benchmark for metropolitan areas working towards developing more human-centric living conditions, aided by technology.

The index combines hard data and survey responses from residents in 141 cities to gain insight into how technology and infrastructure is helping cities address challenges and improve the quality of life for their residents. The final score is calculated using perceptions from the last 3 years, with different weights assigned to each year.

In 2021 when the survey was last conducted, Amsterdam ranked 13th. Despite ranking two places lower in 2023, the city remains a global leader in innovative city solutions and has continuously improved year-on-year performance. 

Amsterdam maintains a leading role in smart technology application

The Amsterdam Area serves as a leading model for smart cities worldwide by effectively integrating cutting-edge solutions, promoting collaboration among stakeholders, and placing a strong emphasis on citizen engagement. As one of Europe's leading tech ecosystems, innovative applications of technology are fuelling advancements in key industries like mobility, construction, and energy. The city itself has become a living lab for urban innovation, with dedicated hubs like AMS Institute and Waag Futurelab driving citizen engagement and bringing public and private stakeholders together to research, implement, and test metropolitan solutions.

Amsterdam is demonstrating how a city can leverage technology and innovation to create a more efficient and liveable urban environment. Through eco-friendly initiatives aimed at restoring biodiversity to the development of ‘smart grids’ leveraging digitisation to enable more efficient energy distribution, the region is developing a blueprint for what future-proof cities could look like. 

Read more about the smart city solutions being developed by some of Amsterdam’s leading innovation hubs.