Singapore’s government announced another achievement on Thursday when the Republic has topped the Smart City Index for the 2nd year running. Amid coronacrisis, the ranking becomes even more important due to the ability of the local authorities to protect its residents from the COVID-19.
Globally, the smart cities heading the list had handled the Covid-19 pandemic better. In 2020, rankings took into account how 109 cities tapped technology in a lasting way to manage the virus outbreak. Singapore had a clear road map that it followed but remained flexible.
The ranking was released by the Swiss business school Institute of Management Development (IMD) on Sept 17. Professor Arturo Bris, director of the World Competitiveness Centre at IMD, hailed Singaporean approach.
“We have watched Singapore’s performance over the last 12 months and have directly correlated Singapore’s continued success as this prompt response to an unexpected challenge where other cities have faltered,” he added in the statement.
The city-state Singapore had acted quickly and decisively to protect its habitants from the aggressive virus. The citizens were kept informed and therefore onboard with the decisions and the loss of freedom that these entailed. The government has provided adequate compensation to those losing out and did this wisely, which is extremely important under crisis situation.
IMD ranking appreciates Singapore’s experience
The IMD survey findings noted that a central pillar of Singapore’s success has been its “resilience and promptness when confronted with the unexpected challenges brought by the pandemic”.
“As an example, over 77 per cent of the sample surveyed agreed that information was clear and easy to access concerning the clarity and easiness of access to information on government decisions,” the IMD’s statement reads
The index, which ranks cities by economic and technological data, was published by IMD in partnership with the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Each pillar was then evaluated over five key areas: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance. Unfortunately, many big cities in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru) suffered significant drops in the 2020 rankings.
IMD released the TOP 10 smart cities 2020
- Singapore
- Helsinki, Finland
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Oslo, Norway
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- New York, United States
In addition, the common factor behind the Singaporean victory is a general improvement experienced by all of them in the quality of infrastructure of the city despite the technological solutions implemented to advancing it, the IMD experts noted.
