The analysis was conducted over a range of city indices, including transport, healthcare, public safety, energy and productivity. Scores were calculated according to diverse metrics, including present state-of-play variables (such as congestion and crime levels) alongside smart city rollouts, vision and long-term strategy.
Juniper’s UK Smart City rankings are as follows:
| City | |
| 1 | London |
| 2 | Edinburgh |
| 3 | Glasgow |
| 4 | Bristol |
| 5 | Manchester |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove |
| 7 | Liverpool |
| 8 | Oxford |
| 9 | Birmingham |
| 10 | Milton Keynes |
The research found that Scotland’s major cities were strong performers across the board. Edinburgh’s 16 year smart city journey, for example, has allowed the city to learn from mistakes (such as disparate maintenance of systems and control of systems by separate council units) and apply its ‘One Council’ principle to better deliver citizen services.
“Glasgow has used the smart city concept to address a number of key challenges” noted research author Steffen Sorrell. “The traffic system is integrated with emergency services, helping save lives. Meanwhile a £24 million grant was used to plan smart CCTV rollout, using artificial intelligence to detect suspicious objects and terrorist activity.”
The research found that significant hurdles lie ahead for the UK smart city market. EIB (European Investment Bank) and Horizon 2020 have contributed more than £23 billion to the UK market over the last three years; after 2019, alternative funding will have to be found to replace them.
