Seattle is the third smartest city in North America behind Boston and San Francisco, reports Fast Company. The rainy city achieved high marks for its smart governance, commitment to environment protection and sustainability, and overall economic performance.
High-tech infrastructure, sustainability plans, and innovation in business and science are high on the list for making the “smart” grade. More specifically, the Smart Cities Wheel, a construct developed to rank major metropolitan cities in North America, identifies six components and three key drivers within each component. Environment (green buildings, energy, and planning); government (transparency, access to data, use of technology); economy (productivity, entrepreneurship and innovation); living (safety, culture, health); mobility (mixed-modal access, green transportation); and people (education, creativity) comprise the major categories.
Here’s how the rest of the pack shaped up, in order of their rankings:
- Vancouver
- New York City
- Washington D.C.
- Toronto
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Montreal – my home town! Does that help my cause?!
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