Riga has moved up 24 places in the international index of smart cities

In the international index of smart cities, Riga has risen 24 places during the year, taking 59th place in the competition of 142 cities and also beating on European cities such as Barcelona, ​​​​Istanbul, Rome, Athens, Milan, Krakow and Manchester.

The IMD Smart City index is organized annually by the Center for Global Competitiveness, evaluating the infrastructure, technological solutions and services available in cities. During the survey, 120 residents in each city were surveyed, asking them to rate the city’s performance in areas such as health and safety, mobility, activity (environment and culture), access to work and education , and city management.

Evaluating Riga’s performance, Inese Andersone, chair of the Riga City Council’s City Development Committee, emphasizes: “Our work in the field of smart cities is yielding results and we are successfully ‘ moving forward, introducing several innovative technologies in the work of cities. But success is based on smart city management, and as more and more knowledgeable, experienced and talented people join the city team, Riga’s growth will not increase.”

By incorporating digital technologies into the operation of the city, the transportation systems already integrated in Riga make moving around simpler and more convenient. Operational traffic management and real-time data make it easy for everyone to move around the city. “Green” buildings, solar energy, smart public lighting and environmentally friendly transport reduce the carbon footprint, creating a cleaner and greener Riga. The city’s online services, digital tools in urban planning and 5G technological solutions allow everyone to participate in the creation of the city. Free Wi-Fi in city parks, improved public safety and diverse city services improve the daily life of Riga residents and city guests. On the other hand, artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being tested to increase the efficiency of the city’s work and to respond more quickly to citizens’ requests.

Foreign partners appreciate the opportunities that Riga provides, as more and more entrepreneurs choose Riga as their innovation environment and the city becomes a partner, which ‘ developing and testing solutions in the urban environment and its pilot areas. For example, the Municipal geospatial data portal “GEO RĪGA” provides access to Riga’s geospatial data for various groups of society, including investors, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers. Riga, together with the city of Turin, participates in the pilot project of the European Union “5G4LIVES”. The latest 5G technologies will be installed in the pilot areas of this project – the beach of Kīšezerai and Kīšezer, and automatic drone flights will be introduced in the work of municipal police. To make Riga safer, the number of video surveillance cameras for recording violations in the city has been increased and the administration of traffic violations has been automated.

These are just some of the digital technology projects that the city implements in the urban environment and services to make the lives of citizens and entrepreneurs easier and safer, and services and processes – faster and more productive .

The first three places IMD Smart City Index Zurich, Oslo and Canberra are ranked in the ranking. Additional information about the assessment is available here: https://www.imd.org/smart-city-observatory/home/rankings/