Bitkom published the Smart City Index for the first time last year. The aim of the ranking is to show how Germany’s major cities are positioned in terms of digitization. In the first edition, Munich made it to fifth place. In the 2020 edition, Munich seriously improves its ranking and comes in just behind Hamburg in second place. Cologne follows, then Darmstadt, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Berlin comes in seventh place, followed by Osnabrück, Aachen, Heidelberg and Düsseldorf. The best ranking of all major cities in eastern Germany is achieved by Leipzig as twelfth.
“The Smart City Index shows how digital big German cities are. The number of position changes compared to last year emphasizes the highly dynamic nature of the smart city landscape,”
said Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder.
These categories are measured in the Smart City Index
The numeric score of the 81 surveyed cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants is calculated on the basis of five subcategories: administration, IT and communication, energy and environment, mobility and society. The five fields are then broken down into 38 individual indicators, which are composed of a total of 136 parameters – with aspects such as online services for citizens, sharing offers for mobility, intelligent trash cans or the availability of broadband internet. Bernhard Rohleder said:
“Key success factors for a smart city are not only having a good financial standing, but also and most importantly having a comprehensive digital strategy that is integrated into urban development.”