Prague fell from 19th to 44th place in the 2020 ranking of smart cities, which takes into consideration technological and economic criteria, as well as life quality, health and safety, education, transport, and leisure.
Singapore remained at the top of the ranking of 109 world capitals, followed by Helsinki and Zurich, and six cities from Europe managed to place in the top ten. According to data from the Swiss IMD Institute and the University of Technology and Design in Singapore (SUTD).
This year, Prague dropped the most out of all cities on the list. However, according to the authors of the study, the fall of the Czech capital by 25 places was not caused by socio-economic factors or a more real lag in the field of technology, but by the extension of the ranking by new criteria.
Only 24 percent of Prague respondents answered that it is not a problem to secure housing here for up to 30 percent of income. More than half of the Prague residents surveyed were also dissatisfied with what information about traffic jams the city makes available through mobile applications.
“According to the Smart City Index 2020, Praguers especially praise the system of online purchase of tickets for museums and cultural performances. The contribution of digital technologies for the purchase of tickets in public transport and the availability of timetables online is appreciated. In public administration, Prague is gaining positive points for reducing waiting times at offices thanks to the online processing of personal documents, “said Kryštof Kruliš from the Consumer Forum, which cooperates with IMD.
Only Singapore achieved the best rating of “AAA” this year, Zurich shared it last year. The second best “AA” ratings went to Helsinki, Zurich, Auckland, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Geneva. Prague received the rating “BB.” Ten other cities have the same rating, including Lyon, Barcelona, and Dubai.