Shanghai’s citizen data platform recognised as smart city model

‘Governments are eager to democratise the data they hold and bring transparency to their citizens,’ the ranking’s authors note. — AFP Relaxnews

Shanghai has been named the top ‘smart city’ in the world for 2022. It achieved the top spot in a ranking in part thanks to its platform connecting citizens with over a thousand public services useful in daily life. It’s an example of how data can be used in public service.

Shanghai is now setting the pace for smart cities. In a ranking created by the Juniper Research agency, Shanghai was named 2022’s top smart city in the world, beating out Seoul, Barcelona, Beijing, and New York.

The Chinese city set itself apart with its Citizen Cloud. This platform for Shanghai residents serves as the only access point necessary for reaching more than a thousand different services and helps them find the information they need to make daily life easier. From marriages and births to tourism, education, culture, and assistance for elderly citizens, the platform is a centralised hub for connecting residents to services.

“Governments are keen to democratise the data they hold and deliver transparency to their citizens, make them more involved in decision making and generally empower them to help themselves in their day-to-day lives,” said the ranking’s authors.

To create its ranking of smart cities, Juniper Research, which specialises in the digital technologies market, evaluated 50 cities from around the world based on criteria related to energy, infrastructure, technological management, and urban connectivity. – AFP Relaxnews