Two UAE cities top the ranking of smartest cities in the Middle East.

Two cities from the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have topped the ranking of smartest cities in the region after the capital jumping 14 spots to 42 in the world. 

Last year, Abu Dhabi ranked 59 in the world and since then has improved a lot as far as the parameters assessed by the Institute of Management Development’s 2020 smart city index is concerned. These parameters include technological and economic data and also how the residents evaluate the city on how smart it is. Dubai rose by two ranks to 43 this year. 

IMD Professor Arturo Bris said that Covid certainly had an impact on the rankings. He added that even though technology is not the solution to covid but it is true that those with better access to tech have fared better in handling the crisis. "Those with better technology manage the pandemic better. Smart cities are not the solution, but technology helps.”

The IMD along with the Singapore Institute of Technology and Design released a second edition of the index that showed that covid has affected the rankings and technology has been one of determining factors. For instance, where most of the European cities fell on the ranking Singapore, Helsinki and Zurich have topped the index. 

This year’s index also showed the ability of cities other than capital cities to perform better than the capital where one of the examples was that of Birmingham performing better than London as London jumper just five positions from last year while Birmingham jumped 12 spots. 

It was revealed that residents of the UAEs capital were content with facilities in the city as 83.8 percent of them said that online booking for medical purposes has become easy and tech has helped improve healthcare, Apart from that, 86.2 percent believe that installing CCTV cameras has led to making them feel safer. In Terms of the working environment too, the city fared well with 77.5 percent of residents agreeing that online service by the government has made it easier to start a business and it easier to search for work due to ease of  posting jobs online. ]

The Abu Dhabi government has been very active in dealing with the crisis and since the time of the outbreak has been making attempts to reduce the impact of the pandemic on residents by releasing financial relief packages, reducing various government fees, granting easier access to financing and promoting start-ups. 

Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/abu-dhabi-dubai-ranked-smartest-cities-in-middle-east-