Singapore, Barcelona, London, San Francisco and Oslo are the top five smart cities in 2016 in the world, said Juniper Research.
Juniper Research has compiled the Smart City Rankings following a study of cities around the globe, covering technology, transport, energy, open data and economy.
Singapore is a world leader in applying smart mobility policies and technology. Meanwhile, the city’s fixed and cellular broadband services, city apps and strong open data policy led to it taking the top spot for 2016.
“Congestion and mobility are almost universal issues for cities to address,” said research author Steffen Sorrell.
Barcelona was found to be particularly strong with regards to its energy and sustainability policies. London’s score suffered as a result of weak renewable energy sourcing and relatively poor energy use reduction initiatives.
Deployment of smart grid technologies has found its way onto the agenda for cities. North America and parts of Asia in particular, are showing strong investment in renewable energy technologies.
Europe has seen smart grid progress slow due to market unbundling which has led to a fragmented distribution grid landscape.
Juniper anticipates that the smart grid technology deployment will deliver $18.8 billion in cost savings in 2021. This will be achieved through reduced energy use and avoided economic costs from emissions. The reduced emissions are equivalent to those produced by nearly 15 million homes annually.
