Only a select group of cities are becoming “future-ready,” a new global study found, in spite of most pledging to become more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.
A study of 250 cities conducted by ThoughtLab found leaders from 92% of future-ready cities say their cities are prepared to overcome today’s urban challenges and are making significantly more progress than others on their net-zero plans as well as other metrics on pollution, crime, safety and health.
To analyse the progress that cities have made on their future-ready plans, ThoughtLab conducted a worldwide benchmarking study of 250 cities in 78 countries, representing 9% of the world’s population. The sample included cities of varying locations, levels of economic development, and population sizes ranging from 50,000 to over 37.1 million people. The result is an actionable playbook of the most effective strategies and digital solutions used by cities to address challenges and prepare for the future.
“Cities today face major challenges as they strive to become future-ready. The goal of this study is to equip city leadership with a data-driven blueprint to meet the shifting expectations and behaviours of their citizens, while offering benchmarking insights to help them assess their progress toward future-readiness,” said Lou Celi, CEO of ThoughtLab and Director of the research program.
What makes a future-ready city?
Future-ready cities are those that are making the most progress in becoming inclusive, resilient, sustainable, and digitally enabled. They are more advanced in preparing their urban domains to meet the fast-changing needs of citizens and local businesses.
- They have made the most progress in safety, security, and resilience, with nearly three-quarters of them reporting significant progress, compared with just 17% of non-future-ready cities
- About two-thirds of these future-ready cities have also made considerable headway in environment and sustainability as well as citizen living, health, and trust
- Over half have made significant progress in transportation and urban infrastructure, which are more challenging domains due to years of inattention
Of the 250 cities participating in the study, ThoughtLab categorised 50 cities as future-ready; 150 as progressing toward future-readiness; and 50 as beginners in an earlier stage of development. The top future-ready cities in each region are:
- North America: Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto
- Latin America: Buenos Aires, Caracas, Quito, Rosario, and Salvador
- Europe: Edinburgh, Helsinki, Lyon, Madrid, and Vienna
- Middle East & Africa: Ankara, Doha, Kampala, Rabat, and Tehran
- Asia Pacific: Beijing, Guangzhou, Melbourne, Taipei, and Tokyo
According to the study, the most successful cities do three things differently than others:
Transform their operating model: Future-ready cities create innovative operating models to enhance governance, foster citizen engagement, and drive forward-looking plans. They centre their strategies around people, ensuring healthy living and inclusiveness, while using digital technologies to engage citizens and develop productive and skilled staff. Future-ready cities build broad ecosystems of partners and take a holistic, cross-departmental approach to tackle intertwined challenges like the economy, homelessness, and crime
Drive continuous innovation across and between key urban domains: Future-ready cities take a comprehensive approach to transformation, focusing on sustainability, infrastructure, mobility, safety and resilience, and citizen well-being. They invest heavily in green energy, smart infrastructure, and public transport improvements like EV charging and micro mobility. They prioritise public safety with smart technologies, enhance public health through green spaces, and foster trust through transparent, citizen-engaged governance.
Harness the power of AI and other advanced technologies: Future-ready cities prioritise technology as a key driver of urban transformation, investing significantly more than their peers in digital initiatives. They leverage advanced technologies like AI, IoT, automation, and Cloud infrastructure. They also lead in adopting digital twins for real-time insights and form long-term digital plans that address technology challenges, like outdated systems and cybersecurity, and install in-house IT teams to implement their plans.
The role of AI in future-ready cities
The study shows that artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising how cities analyse data, create content, and perform tasks, allowing them to boost productivity, drive efficiencies, and better meet citizen needs.
Future-ready cities are leading the way in this, integrating AI across a range of sectors more rapidly than other cities. The ThoughtLab study revealed a growing divide: on average, over half of the future-ready cities in the study are actively using AI across domains, compared with less than a third of other cities. Future-ready cities have made the most significant progress in applying AI to government operations (66%), citizen living and health (56%), safety and resilience (52%), and transportation (50%).
“AI will be a game-changer for cities,” added Celi. “In addition, the rise of generative AI across cities will make the everyday use of AI much easier for employees and citizens.”
Building sustainability, resilience, inclusiveness, and economic growth is a long-term goal for all cities. Future-ready cities, with the help of advanced technologies like AI, have made significantly more progress in overcoming today’s urban challenges and operationalising their visions across their urban landscapes.
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