And no, we're not talking brains, we're talking about technology! Yes, NYC best utilizes technology to improve its public services and infrastructure out of every city in America.
Justine Golata - Senior Staff Writer•
According to a new study from Top10.com, New York City ranked as the number one “smart city” in America. To specify, this study uses the term “smart” in relation to technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) being used to strengthen a city’s infrastructure, public services and benefit economic and social mobility.
A White House Presidential Innovation Fellow initiative will fund $41 trillion towards the IoT over the next two decades to benefit American cities in aspects of healthcare, smart energy, intelligent transportation, and more. And when examining cities with a population greater than one million in terms of their current use and investments in smart technologies, NYC comes out on top!
NYC has a GDP that’s comparable to the entire country of Canada at $1.8 trillion. Thus, NYC has great opportunity to invest in smart technologies. The study listed examples on NYC’s smart technology investments including operating five city fleet vehicles in the South Bronx with solar-powered sensors to collect air quality data and the installment of hundreds of smart sensors in a pilot program to monitor waste levels.
In fact, NYC even proved to have some of the best internet speed and reliability, traffic congestion details via mobile phones, and cultural activities, according to a Global Smart City Index survey conducted in 100 additional major cities worldwide.
Coming in second behind NYC is Washington D.C. for the smartest cities in America. Boston takes third place, with San Francisco and Seattle taking up fourth and fifth. To gain further insight, Top10.com also took a look at smart technologies in smaller cities, concluding that Boulder, Colorado ranked as the smartest small city.
However, all of this can’t be stated without recognizing the smartest city in the world: Singapore. The island offers a digitalized healthcare system, operates an autonomous vehicle fleet for the elderly and disabled, plus, uses traffic lights powered by AI.
See the full study here.
