WORLD SMART CITY AWARDS
Discover the pioneering projects selected for the finals of this year’s edition.
The annual World Smart City Awards is a prestigious international competition that seeks to recognize pioneering projects, solutions, and city strategies that drive meaningful change for citizens and push urban transformation forward.
After another highly competitive process, with a record-breaking number of entries submitted from around the globe, we now have our shortlist.
Discover the finalists of the 2026 World Smart City Awards!
WORLD SMART CITY AWARDS - 2026 FINALISTS
The 2026 Call for Awards received 533 top-level proposals from 68 countries. Winners will be announced during the World Smart City Awards Ceremony on November 4!
CITY AWARD
Awarded to cities for developed global strategies combining projects, initiatives and policy implementations for their citizens.
Glasgow Telecoms Unit
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Glasgow,
Scotland
Scotland
Glasgow City Council placed digital infrastructure at the heart of its Digital Strategy establishing Scotland's first Telecoms Unit. A pioneering initiative has evolved into a Regional Unit, supporting 8 local authorities across the Region, enabling smart places and connectivity at regional scale.
Integrated Atlanta: Building the Digital Infrastructure Platform for an Inclusive Smart City
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Atlanta,
United States of America
United States of America
As one of the Official Host Cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Atlanta intentionally transformed a global event infrastructure investment into permanent civic infrastructure that will continue advancing digital equity, public safety, education, economic opportunity, and smart city innovation long after the tournament concludes.
Better City for People
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Reykjavik,
Iceland
Iceland
Building on its award-winning Better City for Children initiative, Reykjavík is creating a Better City for People by putting residents at the centre of governance, service design and decision-making, using digital leadership and responsible AI to deliver inclusive, accessible and sustainable services.
C³ Powering Tokyo
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Tokyo,
Japan
Japan
C³ Powered is Tokyo's evolution of PPP: Citizen-Powered, Community-Powered, and Collaboration-Powered. By transforming PPP into people-led, citywide value co-creation, enabling a megacity of 14M people to balance scale with a world-class quality of life, offering a model adaptable worldwide.
INNOVATION AWARD
Awarded to projects with the potential of contributing to the successful transformation, adaptation or response of our cities to current challenges or others that may occur in the future.
Crenshaw Corridor. Community Connectivity Project
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Bureau of Street Lighting of Los Angeles,
United States of America
United States of America
Los Angeles' Crenshaw Corridor project replaces short-term connectivity pilots with permanent public infrastructure, combining fiber, smart lighting, open-access networks, community partnerships and workforce development to advance digital equity and long-term resilience.
Smart Village, Clean Energy
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K-water's Green Infrastructure Management Division,
Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea
K-water, Korea's leading public water developed a Smart Village. It integrates renewable energy systems and achieves 109% energy self-sufficiency. Certified as a ZEB, green building, it features smart environmental technologies that support carbon reduction and sustainable living.
Smart City as a Service
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ARAMCO
Aramco Communities,
Saudi Arabia
Aramco Communities,
Saudi Arabia
Aramco pioneers "Smart City as a Service" (SCaaS) for IoT deployment, replacing CapEx with an OpEx subscription model. This turnkey approach ensures scalable, reliable smart infrastructure, reducing costs by 38% while driving sustainability aligned with ISO 37120 standards.
Spot4Dis Valencia
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Solmes,
Spain
Spain
Smart urban mobility governance platform combining EU Blue Card validation, biometric authentication, AI mapping, and IoT monitoring to transform accessible parking into secure, real-time municipal infrastructure that reduces fraud and strengthens inclusion.
PRISM CITY: Innovation Hub
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City of Cheonan,
Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea
Cheonan City advances AI- and data-driven smart services (PRISM) through public-private collaboration across the citizen, industry, and urban sectors. By promoting citizen participation, AI innovation, and digital twin-based urban management, it is building a sustainable smart city ecosystem.
Second-Life Uptime Hubs
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LinQ Powr,
Kenya
Kenya
LinQ Powr repurposes end-of-first-life EV batteries into modular solar-grid energy nodes that keep electric motorcycle swap stations, SMEs and connectivity hubs online during outages in weak-grid African cities.
PROJECT AWARDS
These prizes highlight innovative projects making waves within the sectors covered by our main tracks.
CATEGORY
ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in the fields of data and technology.
5G Metro: Inclusive 5G Campus
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5G Metro,
France
France
5G Metro helps students unable to attend University in person, due to health conditions, to join classes and campus life via telepresence robots powered by a hybrid private 5G campus network. It combines inclusion, public/private access, slicing & local breakout to keep sensitive traffic on campus.
TAMM APP
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Department of Government Enablement
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi redesigned how government delivers services. TAMM is its unified governance platform: 1,170+ services, 47+ integrated partners, 4.5M customers and a 94% CSAT. With AutoGov, the world’s first AI public servant, government initiates eligible services proactively.
Open City Innovation Engine
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Wapice,
Finland
Finland
An AI-powered open city platform that turns fragmented urban data into personalized services, ready applications and new ecosystem innovation through AI-assisted creation, low-code/no-code tools and city-to-city reusable solutions.
Madaar Smart City Platform
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Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia
Madaar is a Smart City Enablement Platform that integrates governance, data and technology across multiple urban developments. It provides configurable dashboards, a marketplace of validated use cases and a scalable framework to accelerate deployment, coordination and value realization.
CATEGORY
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in relating to urban environments.
Disaster Management Platform
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Korea Land & Housing Corporation,
Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea
LH in Korea oversees 1.18M rental homes and 324 construction sites nationwide. In response to escalating climate disasters, LH has built an AI- and GIS-based integrated platform providing real-time disaster monitoring, extreme weather prediction, and proactive protection for residents and assets.
Smart light for those left
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URBIOLED,
Romania
Romania
URBIO turned Europe's poorest county into a best practice: 30.766 smart LED luminaires across 923 km road. Lighting color changes with weather to maximise visibility while light intensity is dimmed by AI during low or no traffic. Energy per luminaire fell 64%, saving over €570.000 a year.
100K Solar Luminaires, Senegal
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Salvi Lighting,
Spain
Spain
Deployment of 100,000 autonomous solar streetlights across 4,000 km of Senegalese roads, powered exclusively by renewable energy, monitored via Smartec® remote technology, and supported by local manufacturing — eliminating fossil fuel use and improving road safety nationwide.
The Great Bubble Barrier
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The Great Bubble Barrier, The Netherlands
The Great Bubble Barrier is a Dutch social enterprise which developed an effective technology to stop plastic pollution in rivers before it flows into the ocean, using bubbles.
CATEGORY
MOBILITY AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in the field of mobility.
FIA Risk-Based Road Scores
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Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA),
Global
Global
This project introduces an AI-driven Predictive Digital Twin for urban infrastructure to proactively analyze and minimize traffic safety risks before accidents occur. By delivering scalable risk scores, it empowers cities to protect vulnerable road users through targeted interventions.
Tracce: accessible Monza
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Fondazione Transform Transport ETS, Italy
Tracce is a participatory and data-driven project supporting Monza’s PEBA. Combining citizens mobility experience, GIS analysis and digital innovation, it produced two tools: a Web App for accessible routing and barrier reporting, and a WebGIS map for prioritising interventions and urban planning.
Riyadh Metro
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Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia
The Riyadh Metro is one of the world’s most advanced public transport systems, with six fully automated lines, 85 stations, and 176 km of track. It holds the Guinness World Record as the longest driverless metro network, enhancing mobility and sustainability.
Ghiath for Safer Cities
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Dubai Police,
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Ghiath is a next-generation smart police mobility vehicle integrating AI, IoT, drones and real-time data to transform patrols into proactive urban safety nodes, improving response, enforcement, sustainability, public confidence and service delivery while supporting Dubai's smart city safety vision.
CATEGORY
LIVING & INCLUSION AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in relation to inclusive and sharing cities.
Mulher.Rio: Smart Safety Net
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City of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Brazil
Mulher.Rio is an innovative digital policy by Rio de Janeiro's City Hall to tackle gender violence. The platform offers georeferenced support and emergency tools in a secure virtual environment, instantly connecting women to the city's protection and rights network.
Gwanak Smart Senior Hub
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Gwanak-gu Office, Seoul Metropolitan Government,
Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea
Gwanak-gu has turned senior centers into smart hubs by connecting them through an online system and smart devices, providing healthcare and two-way education. The district is enhancing elders' social participation and digital skills while offering a scalable smart city model for an aging society.
ICLEI AI Opportunity Fund
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ICLEI Europe,
Germany
Germany
Through the AI Opportunity Fund, ICLEI Europe offers a free AI training programme for European city officials, empowering them with practical, responsible AI skills to strengthen local climate action and improve public service delivery.
Mental Safety Infrastructure
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Mental Guard,
Ukraine
Ukraine
Mental Guard turns schools into an early-warning and support system for mental health. It combines crisis response groups, image-based digital assessments, a unified response protocol, training for educators and students, and analytics to detect distress early and guide timely care.
CATEGORY
INFRASTRUCTURE & BUILDING AWARD
Lootel Smart Rest Hubs
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Dot Box Conception,
India
India
Lootel Smart Rest Hubs transform public toilets into clean, connected and financially sustainable urban infrastructure. With IoT monitoring, premium facilities, inclusive access, water-saving systems and PPP-based revenue streams, Lootel ensures dignified sanitation for future cities.
Pilsen, City of Water
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Nextdrop,
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
City of Pilsen and nextdrop "digitize water", build a unique platform for data-driven decision making and draft a concept for sustainable water management that is transferable to other cities and municipalities. It features a live educational exhibit to drive public awareness.
Tawazun program in Riyadh
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Royal Commission for Riyadh City,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Tawazon Program is an initiative by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) to provide affordable residential land for Saudi citizens. It aims to increase supply, balance the real estate market, and support homeownership. The program offers 40,000 plots through the Tawazon platform.
Digital Twin: 9 Years of Impact
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City of Munich,
Germany
Germany
A journey of innovation and collaboration: Munich's Digital Twin (DTM) is a data-driven replica of the city. From its initial idea in 2017 to its current role as the digital infrastructure of the climate-neutral city, the Digital Twin represents the digital heart of Munich’s smart city approach.
CATEGORY
GOVERNANCE AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in the fields of governance and finance.
Smart Region Flemish Brabant
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Province of Flemish Brabant,
Belgium
Belgium
The Smart Region Program of Flemish Brabant is an open-innovation ecosystem powering quadruple-helix partnerships. It deploys IoT, AI, and digital twins across 6 pillars, water, mobility, governance, energy, tourism, and economy, to build safer, sustainable communities.
Madrid Intelligence in Action
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Madrid City Council,
Spain
Spain
Madrid combines Digital Twin, Smart Urban Spaces, UrbanOS, Data & AI and CityBrain to measure, simulate and improve air quality, energy, water, waste, green spaces and urban resilience through an interoperable, human-centred operating model.
Infrastructure in One Source
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Riyadh Infrastructure Projects Center,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
RIPC’s IICP coordinates public-realm infrastructure excavations through a unified citywide platform. By sequencing project plans across 35+ stakeholders, it resolved 92,000+ delivery conflicts in 2025, reducing disruption, improving air quality and protecting quality of life for 8million+ residents.
From Disaster to De Facto
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Aizuwakamatsu City AiCT Consortium, Japan,
Japan
Japan
Aizu became Japan’s de facto model for smart city governance by turning recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake (M9.0) into a resilient, data driven governance model. Now spreading across 52 municipalities, it keeps data, economic value, and decision making power circulating locally.
CATEGORY
HOUSING AWARD
Awarded to the most innovative and successful projects being implemented and developed in the fields of governance and finance.
Caximba New Neighbourhood
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Municipality of Curitiba,
Brazil
Brazil
Caximba New Neighbourhood resettles families from a contaminated, flood-prone informal settlement into a serviced neighbourhood beside their old one. It delivers dignified solar-powered homes, schools, health and social facilities, and land titling, designed and monitored with the community.
Urla: Housing the Whole Year
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Municipality of Urla,
Türkiye
Türkiye
Urla: Housing the Whole Year transforms underused second homes into shared living ecosystems, using shared mobility, adaptive public spaces and local services to turn seasonal settlements into connected, climate-resilient, year-round neighbourhoods.
Mi Casa en Bogotá
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Bogotá District Secretariat of Habitat, Colombia
Mi Casa en Bogotá transforms housing into a driver of urban transformation. By integrating affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, mobility and inclusion, it creates compact, connected and resilient communities while advancing the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs.
Rock the Block
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Municipality of Aigaleo, Greece
Rock the Block is an EU-funded urban innovation in Aigaleo tackling housing affordability through building-scale interventions, participatory co-design, and new municipal tools. It delivers measurable social, spatial, and governance impact, offering a scalable model for inclusive housing.
The Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award
As part of the World Smart City Awards Ceremony, Metropolis will announce the winner of the Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award.
The award recognizes outstanding nonfiction books that explore the role of cities in addressing present and future global challenges. It celebrates works that advance ideas for more sustainable, equitable, and resilient cities.
