European Smart Cities

Cities in Europe face the challenge of combining competitiveness and sustainable urban development simultaneously. Very evidently, this challenge is likely to have an impact on issues of urban quality such as housing, economy, culture, social and environmental conditions. The main focus of urban research tends to be on the large ‘global’ metropolises. However, the vast majority of the urban population lives in medium-sized cities, and it is these cities that are the focus of European Smart Cities. 70 cities have been ranked using the six characteristics of smart governance, smart economy, smart living, smart mobility, smart people and smart environment.